OneBeat^SM is an international cultural exchange that celebrates the transformative power of the arts through the creation of original, inventive music, and people-to-people diplomacy. In the fall of 2013, 25 musicians (ages 19-35) from around the world will come together in the U.S. for four weeks to collaboratively write, produce, and perform original music, and develop ways that music can make a positive impact on our local and global communities

OneBeat is divided into two segments, a residency and a tour. During the residency, OneBeat Fellows will spend two weeks at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in central Florida, immersed in a process of collaborative music creation and experimentation. During the two-week tour, OneBeat ensembles will collaborate with local musicians to give public performances and lead workshops with youth and community groups. OneBeat Fellows will also work with a diverse group of expert Collaborating Artists—including luminaries of classical music, hip-hop, jazz and more—to develop and deepen the scope of their collaborative work.

OneBeat will be a musical journey like no other. It is a chance for adventurous musicians from an incredible diversity of traditions to seek common ground, creating new musical combinations, pushing the boundaries of music technology, and finding ways to involve all members of society in the process of musical creativity. OneBeat endeavors to be the nexus of a new way of thinking about how music can connect people from across the world and around the block.

One BeatSM is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, administered by Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation. OneBeat builds on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s vision of “smart power” diplomacy. It embraces the use of a full range of diplomatic tools, including music, to bring people, especially youth, together for greater understanding.

learn more about OneBeat 2012