PROGRAMS AND EVENTS

Ms. Ursuline Kairson’s Music Concert Wraps Up U.S. National Cultural Week in Abuja

Date: February 29, 2008
Venue: Abuja

Ambassador Sanders apprecaites Ursuline Kairson's performance after handing her a bouquet. | Full size

Abuja’s music lovers were excited on the evening of Friday, February 29, 2008. The event was a musical concert featuring Ursuline Kairson, a Paris-based American musician, and the Abuja Metropolitan Music Society at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel. The concert, sponsored by the Unites States’ Embassy in partnership with the Transcorp Hilton, wrapped up a week of events marking the 232nd anniversary of American independence.

The evening brought together prominent government functionaries including ministers, state governors, top military officials, the diplomatic community in Abuja, business people, academics, lovers of art, and journalists. Ms. Kairson’s solo pieces included Circle of Life, The Wind Beneath My Wings, Now, Cabaret, and What the World Needs Now, while the Abuja Metropolitan Music Society joined her to perform It Don’t Mean a Thing and Thank You for the Music, to the applause of the audience.

In an opening address, U.S. Ambassador Robin Renée Sanders highlighted the significance of cultural diplomacy, stressing that cultural exchanges between Nigeria and the U.S. were important to “the connections between our people.” Members of the Abuja Metropolitan Music Society and the back-up band said that performing with Ms. Kairson offered them an opportunity to learn new skills and techniques and thanked the U.S. Mission for bringing her to Abuja.