“The Philadelphia Orchestra’s principle trumpet player has been mentoring a teenager in war-torn Afghanistan over the Internet. Now he’s helped the 17 year-old get into a prestigious American music school.
A year and a half ago, David Bilger received Facebook message from AhmedBaset Azizi, then 16, whom he had never met.”
This is the kind of story you love to hear. A young man, AhmadBaset Azizi, is in Afghanistan and is the one of the few in the entire county to discover the Trumpet and find a love for it. He contacted David Bilger for lessons and Bilger obliged via the internet. What a great story.
Aside from the obvious, remember the significance that this happened in Afghanistan. As recently as 15 years ago, virtually all music was banned in Afghanistan. If one had been seen with a Trumpet, or any other instrument for that matter, the Taliban would have destroyed it and punished the person who possessed it. Many of us could not imagine a world without music. This young man was born into a country that had experienced this absence of joy for years. Even now, with a new government, these same extremist forces are still present in the country. The head of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music was target by a suicide bomber. His instrument of choice is Trumpet.
The story turned into a true happy ending with Azizi winning a spot at the Interlochen Arts Academy. You can support his quest on GoFundMe.
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