A youth orchestra from Afghanistan's National Institute of Music could be set to perform in New York and Washington DC next year, reports the New York Times.

The institute's Afghan director, Ahmad Sarmast, and American musician William Harvey, who teaches violin at the school, want to bring around 50 young players and a dozen teachers to the US in February. The plan is for the orchestra to perform at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. Funding for the tour is still to be confirmed.

The Afghanistan National Institute of Music opened in 2010 and has some 150 students, who study both Western instruments and traditional Afghan music.

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