On Friday, musicians from Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music culminated a weeklong exchange program in Havana, sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, with a public concert alongside their Cuban counterparts from Cuba’s National Concert Band.

The program was the result of a rare partnership between the U.S. Embassy in Cuba and institutions from Cuba’s Ministry of Culture.

Belly of the Beast spoke with the directors from both the U.S. and Cuban groups, who expressed the need for more U.S.-Cuba cultural contact despite ongoing political tensions between the two countries.

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