Embassy News
The Brian Horton Quartet Visits Kazakhstan
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| The Quartet jams with students at Astana’s National Academy of Music. |
From May 22-25, the Brian Horton Quartet visited Astana and Kostanai. This visit was a special event for Kazakhstan’s many jazz fans. In Astana, the Quartet played to a packed house at the Opera and Ballet Theater and conducted a master class with students from the National Academy of Music. The students also had an opportunity to jam with the musicians and show off their skills.
This was the first visit of American musicians to Kostanai and was timed to coincide with the opening of Kazakhstan’s ninth American Corner by Charge d’Affaires Kevin Milas and Deputy Akim of Kostanai Oblast Serik Bekturganov. The Quartet held an interactive master class for local musicians from the Kostanai Philharmonic and music students from the Rudny Music College. They also played a standing room only concert at the Philharmonic. As the Kazakhstani musicians learned the techniques of playing saxophone like Charlie Parker or piano like Duke Ellington, the American musicians learned about Kazakhstani hospitality and were welcomed with open arms everywhere they went.
The visit of the Brian Horton Quartet was sponsored by the Department of State’s Rhythm Roads program in conjunction with Jazz at Lincoln Center.
