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Afghan Conservatory of Music
Street address: Salang Watt Street, Kabul, Kabul Province, Afghanistan
Telephone: 93 (0) 70 286850 (mobile)
Contact: Mohammad Rafiq Khushnud Director
Additional contact: Afghan Azizi Assistant Director
Conservatory 1 (Linda Mazur)Established in the 1960s, the Afghan Conservatory of Music is the national music school for traditional instruments, including rebab, sitar, tambour, dhol, harmonium and tabla. The conservatory has few musical instruments or materials, one small office and only four classrooms. The instrument makers are Samat for the harmonium and Qader Sans for the rebab. It is hoped that the Ministry of Information and Culture and the NGO Humanitarian Aid Agency of Poland (PHO) will support the instrument makers and assist apprentices by teaching them to make and repair the traditional instruments. There are currently few places for performances but the teachers, all professional musicians, perform as part of the Radio-Television Afghanistan Musicians. Before the conflicts they used the Indian Classical Music Centre for performances. However, the Taliban destroyed that venue and a number of the musicians then went to Pakistan. Most of the teachers have two or three jobs, performing with the Radio-Television Afghanistan Musicians and giving private tuition as well as teaching at the Conservatory.
 
Date updated: 18 August 2004
           
 
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