Carmel Institute celebrates 5th anniversary with jazz concert

RBTH
27 Oct 2016

The Carmel Institute of Russian Culture and History celebrated its 5th Anniversary by hosting a standing room only concert at the historic Lincoln Theatre celebrating Cultural Dialogue and the Giants of Jazz. Over 1200 guests and students from all over the Washington DC metropolitan area thoroughly enjoyed this memorable concert celebrating the common language and mutual love of jazz that the United States and Russia share.

Said Carmel Institute Founder and Advisory Chair Susan E. Carmel, "The Carmel Institute emphasizes shared values, common interests and cultural dialogue. These are important qualities necessary to achieve cooperation, mutual respect and to overcome pervasive stereotypes. I am honored and grateful to have two incredible cultural Ambassadors at our Fifth Anniversary celebration for the Carmel Institute. Igor Butman and Wynton Marsalis exemplify the best of cultural diplomacy and cultural dialogue, and help us represent the Institutes' focus on enhancing greater cultural understanding through shared common interests and face to face interactions. By continuing to emphasize the importance of these qualities to our younger generations and future leaders, we are making an investment into the future that will be paid back ten-fold over time."

Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the U.S. and Honorary Co-Chair of the Institute acknowledged the Institute's milestone by saying, "We would like to congratulate the Carmel Institute for Russian Culture and History and its leadership with the fifth anniversary and express our gratitude for their support and dedication. What started as a modest cultural initiative, five years later has grown both in scope and scale. Far surpassing the initial plans, it has now turned into an Institute that creates an opportunity to strengthen interest and knowledge of culture and history of Russia, thus contributing to the increase of mutual understanding between the two nations."

According to jazz great Igor Butman, "I am honored to contribute to the rich tradition of jazz diplomacy by performing with Wynton Marsalis at the fifth anniversary concert of the Carmel Institute of Russian Culture and History. It is an even greater honor to perform at the Lincoln Theater where so many giants of jazz have expressed themselves in the universal language of music. I wish the Carmel Institute many more years of success in its tireless campaign to promote culture as a medium of communication between two great cultures that have always achieved success through dialogue and cooperation."

Dr. Anton Fedyashin, Director of the Carmel Institute of Russian Culture and History, added, "The Carmel Institute has become an integral part of American University's commitment to an education that prepares students for global responsibilities in an increasingly complex and interconnected world. Without ignoring problems of which history provides so many examples, our program emphasizes shared values, common interests, and cooperative achievement, and always points towards the positive stages in the US-Russian relationship from which we hope that students can learn in order to guide their decisions as they emerge as global leaders.