William Harvey is a professional violinist with a big vision. He founded a non-profit ten years ago, Cultures in Harmony, with a mission to use music to build relationship and connection between people from diverse cultures around the world. Then he spent several years in Afghanistan teaching music at a school in Kabul, and last year moved to Argentina as concertmaster (1st violin) of an orchestra there. All the while keeping Cultures in Harmony going.
I took some time off work this morning to ride the Metro down to Columbia Heights and meet William for coffee and a crepe.
You may be wondering how we even know each other - this global citizen Julliard trained violinist and me - a government bureaucrat in marine fisheries, amateur musician, and yoga teacher. The answer, I think, is a common interest in humanity, being open to possibility, and the miracles of modern communication.
There's a public radio program that features youth performing classical music, "From the Top." Pam and I have listened to it fairly consistently on Sunday evenings around dinner time. Some years ago, William, who had previously been on the show, was featured on an alumni program, and talked about the organization he had founded, Cultures in Harmony.
I looked at the web site, thought it was a great idea, and made a donation. A few years later I connected again with him on facebook, and followed his posts from Afghanistan and then Argentina. So when I recently got an email from him that he would be in Washington this week and was interested in meeting, I didn't want to miss the opportunity.
We had a lively and far-ranging conversation, and I left with an uplifted spirit, glad there are people like William in the world, dedicated to the common good of humanity.
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