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Mr. Derek Beckvold has performed music in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East in a wide range of musical styles as a woodwind multi-instrumentalist, composer and conductor. In addition to an active performance career with a variety of recognized ensembles, he is a committed music educator both in the United States and international settings. He was previously on the faculty at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (Kabul, Afghanistan), the Music Matters School (Colombo, Sri Lanka) and the Global Music Institute (New Delhi, India). He was a trainer with Musicians Without Borders in Palestine and has worked as advisor with Humanitarian Bazaar. He was a 2014 Fulbright-Nehru Scholar in India, partnering with Music Basti and studying tabla with Pandit Shailendra Mishra. He has been on the faculty for previous American Voices programs, in collaboration with the US State Department, in Sudan and Turkmenistan.

​He received his Bachelor of Music from the New England Conservatory in saxophone performance and was personal assistant to composer, conductor and educator Gunther Schuller. He is currently the Programs Manager for Community Outreach and Engagement at the Music Matters School in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he is working on projects with UNICEF, the Sevalanka Foundation and the Family Foundation. He has recently been accepted into the Global Leaders Program in association with Oxford University, McGill University and Youth Orchestra of the Americas.

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