WASHINGTON November 6 (RIA Novosti) – It’s a long way from the US heartland. But all-female American Bluegrass group Della Mae is being sent by the State Department as “musical ambassadors” to tour five ex-Soviet Central Asian states and Pakistan this autumn, the State Department said Tuesday.
In a statement, the State Department said the group’s activities in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan would include public concerts, lectures, demonstrations, workshops, media outreach and collaborations with local musicians.
With the exception of Pakistan, those strategically-located countries were once part of the Soviet Union. Russia and the United States both have military forces in the region and both jockey for influence in these countries wedged between China, Russia, Iran and Afghanistan.
The tour is being organized by the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in partnership with American Voices, the statement said.
