US artists to perform in Cambodia next week for culture promotion

The New York City-based band, The Amigos, will perform in Cambodia from March 12 to 15 with an aim to promote cultural exchanges between the United States and Cambodia, said a press statement from the U.S. Embassy here Friday. "The performance is a part of the U.S. Department of State's American Music Abroad program,"the statement said."It is a people-to-people cultural exchange program designed to communicate America's rich musical contributions and diverse culture to the global music scene." This exchange will give Cambodian audiences the chance to directly interact with U.S. artists, it said, adding that with the support of Cambodia's Amrita Performing Arts, the band will perform free of charge at the Center for Circus and Performing Arts in capital Phnom Penh on March 14 and in Kampong Speu province on March 15. Besides, The Amigos will hold a master class with Cambodian musicians at the Royal University of Fine Arts, the statement said. In September, a group of 30 Cambodian artists, organized by the Sacred Dancers of Angkor Troupe, had staged a month-long performance tour in four U.S. cities -- Boston, New York, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles, aiming to promote classical, folk and sacred Khmer dance and music.