EDITED BY M.M.ALAM

PHOTOS BY SHOAIB SHAHRAM

KARACHI: As sea breeze siffled through the leaves of the majestic palm trees, music aficionados from all over the Metropolis slowly converged on the vast lawn of Beach Luxury Hotel Thursday evening.

Occasion was a concert hosted by the US Consul General Brian Heath featuring Sangat – an ensemble of musicians from the University of Texas (UT) Austin and National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA).

Concert showcased the success of a three-year university partnership between the two schools, supported by Rs. 100 million U.S. government grants.

Speaking on the occasion the Consul General stated: “The university partnership highlights our efforts to develop musical talent in Pakistan, while building people-to-people ties between our two nations”. He further said that performance manifested the power of music and culture to bring people together.

The U.S. Mission to Pakistan has 20 university partnerships in Pakistan, said Consul General Heath. “In Sindh alone, we have sponsored four over the past three years and, as with the UT-NAPA partnership, each is a Rs. 100 million grant.”

“Our partnerships are just one part of the work we are doing to support higher education in Pakistan,” said Brian Heath. “We know that a nation’s youth is its future, and we want to ensure that Pakistani students have access to the tools they need to fully realize their potential and to contribute to a strong, stable, and prosperous Pakistan,” he added.

Conspicuous amongst hundreds of ladies and gentlemen in the audience there were Kamran Ali Director of the South Asia Institute at UT and Arshad Mehmood NAPA’s Director of Programs.

While in Karachi, the UT musicians will participate in a panel discussion on women in music, hold workshops and faculty meetings.