Thursday, October 12, 2023

Our Honorary Ambassador was awarded...

On September 30, 2023, Mr.Jeffrey Werbock was awarded the Certificate of Appreciation from the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United States of America, on the occasion 50th anniversary of his high-level promotion of Azerbaijani culture and national music in the USA.

 

 On this occasion, as an Honorary Ambassador of the International Multicultural Network, we heartily congratulate Mr.Jeffrey  Werbock and wish him much success in his professional and personal life on behalf of the International Multicultural Network family.


                                                                           Who is Mr. Jeffrey WERBOCK?

 He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1951. In 1971 he moved to Los Angeles, California and the following year he met an elderly man from Daghestan who played traditional Azerbaijani music on one of their native instruments, the kamancha. From the first moment of listening to this strange and ancient music, Jeffrey was completely enthralled. With the guidance of Mr. Avshalomov, he began to study the cultures and peoples of the Caucasus Mountains, with a strong emphasis on the traditional music of Azerbaijan.

Only one year after they met, Jeffrey and his teacher moved to Brooklyn where they shared an apartment. After three years of intensive work together, Jeffrey moved to Manhattan in order to be closer to the center where world music began to acquire a following while continuing to study music with his teacher until he passed away in 1987. Mr. Avshalomov's passing prompted Jeffrey to go to Azerbaijan in search of more teachers, wishing to advance his understanding of mugham. Since then, he has given hundreds of concerts and lecture demonstrations at museums, colleges, universities, and community concert venues in the United States, Europe, Israel, and Azerbaijan.

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