Taliban tried to silence musicians. Now some are playing at Carnegie Hall.

The Taliban tried to silence them, at times violently. The Afghan Youth Orchestra defiantly played on, and this week they will take the stage at Carnegie Hall.

NEW YORK — The Taliban tried to silence them, at times violently.

The musicians from the Afghan Youth Orchestra have defiantly played on, and on Wednesday they took to one of the world’s most prestigious stages: Carnegie Hall.

Their journey to perform at the famed New York City concert venue has been long, painful and fraught with danger. 

After the Taliban swept back into power in Afghanistan in August 2021, many of the musicians believed they’d never play their instruments again. According to the group’s hard-line and austere interpretation of Islam, women should remain covered outside the home. Most forms music are strictly forbidden. 

That’s what made Wednesday’s Carnegie Hall concert such a triumph, Ahmad Sarmast, founder and director of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), told NBC News in a series of interviews, the last in late July.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/afghan-youth-orchestra-carnegie-hall-taliban-rcna165311

---