Acting U.S. Consul General Jack Hillmeyer welcomed a festive crowd of 200 music lovers on November 17, 2019 to a concert organized by the U.S. Consulate General Karachi at the Arts Council Karachi to mark the 17th annual “Daniel Pearl World Music Days.” The concert was celebrated as part of the Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network’s (PUAN) Alumni Small Grant (ASG) for Pakistan Sufi musician Arieb Azhar whose project aimed to reach out to young people from undeserved communities in Karachi and inspiring, training and empowering them to creatively express themselves through music, and help them on their journey towards becoming professional musicians, while also instilling hope in their communities.
Arieb performed alongside students from undeserved communities of Lyari and Mauripur, who honed their skills through a U.S-funded music workshop. Jack Hillmeyer said:
“Daniel Pearl truly believed that music has the power to build bridges between people and worked towards cross-cultural understanding with simply a pen and a violin. This concert has become a wonderful tradition, and I couldn’t be happier that Pakistanis and Americans are once again standing together for tolerance, respect and mutual understanding.”
As part of the concert, PUAN funded four music workshops conducted by Arieb Azhar for underprivileged students from Lyari and Mauripur Karachi. The first workshop engaged around 40 participants and introduced them to the concept of music as a cohesive force for community integration and for connecting people across cultures. This was followed by three workshops held with musicians and singers selected from the neighborhoods where they were trained through multiple exercises and rehearsals to prepare and arrange their songs for the final performances to be held at Arts Council Karachi. Six students were selected from these workshops to perform at the concert.
Daniel Pearl World Music Days is an international network of concerts that celebrate the life and work of journalist and musician Daniel Pearl. World Music Day concerts use the universal language of music to commemorate the sacrifices of journalists like Pearl and to spread a message of hope and unity.
