U.S. Department Of State And American Voices Announce 2013- 2014 American Music Abroad Participants

New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ American Voices) U.S. Department Of State And American Voices Announce 2013- 2014 American Music Abroad Participants

The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the non-profit organization American Voices, is pleased to announce the ensembles selected for the 2013-2014 season of American Music Abroad.

American Music Abroad is an international exchange program that features American music as a means to engage underserved audiences worldwide. Through public concerts, interactive performances with local musicians, lecture demonstrations, workshops, and jam sessions, American Music Abroad uses music to create and build relationships with foreign publics outside of formal diplomatic channels to bring people together and create opportunities for greater understanding.

Ten musical groups chosen for their musical excellence and educational capability will visit more than 40 countries to present American music through public concerts, and conduct master classes, workshops, and jam sessions with local musicians. They were selected following a live round of auditions held in New York, St. Louis and San Francisco. Over 300 musical ensembles from 44 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico competed to take part in this season's program.

The selected groups include:
1. The Amigos Band (Americana- New York, NY)
2. The Anthony Stanco Ensemble (Jazz- Lansing, MI)
3. Audiopharmacy (Hip Hop/ Reggae- San Francisco, CA)
4. Cello Street w/ Matt Alber (Classical/Pop- San Francisco, CA)
5. Henhouse Prowlers (Bluegrass- Chicago, IL)
6. Laura Cortese & the Acoustic Project (Acoustic Appalachian- Boston, MA)
7. The Native Jazz Quartet (Jazz/Bebop/Swing- New Orleans, Alaska, New York and Seattle)
8. Nomadic Wax Collective (Hip Hop/ Jazz Fusion- New York, NY)
9. Oscar Williams and the Band of Life (Gospel- Dallas, TX)
10. Windborne (Vocal Folk- Concord, MA)

Ensembles will travel around the globe for approximately one month each between September 2013 and May 2014. During their respective tours, each ensemble will visit four to six countries.

For more information, please visit https://exchanges.state.gov/cultural/ama.html and https://americanvoices.org/ama/ or contact:

Paul Rockower, American Voices (301) 875 8319, [email protected]
Anna Griffin, U.S. Department of State (202) 642 6452, [email protected]