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Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC)

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) implements cultural initiatives aimed at revitalising the heritage of Islamic communities and contributing to their social and economic development. Its programmes include: the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, which recognises outstanding examples of contemporary design and promotes the conservation of Islamic architecture's urban heritage; the Historic Cities Support Programme, which undertakes the conservation and rehabilitation of historic buildings and urban spaces in ways that act as catalysts for social, economic and cultural development; the Humanities Project, which is developing a core, introductory humanities curriculum based on the cultural traditions of the region for use in universities in Central Asia; the Music Initiative in Central Asia, which works to preserve and promote the musical traditions of the region; the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, an endowed centre of excellence in the history, theory and practice of Islamic architecture based at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; ArchNet.org, which aims to become the most comprehensive archive of materials on architecture, urban design, urban development and related issues of concern to the Muslim world; and the Museums Project, which is creating the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto and the Indian Ocean Maritime Museum in Zanzibar.


Allen Foundation for Music

The mission of the Allen Foundation of Music, part of the Paul G. Allen Foundations, is to support creativity, innovation, and public participation in American popular music. In the Pacific Northwest of the United States, the foundation supports projects and programs that promote experimentation across disciplines, provide access to neglected artists and artforms, and encourage individuals to discover their creative potential.


FolkwaysAlive! at the University of Alberta

FolkwaysAlive!, a partnership between the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings in Washington D.C. This new initiative, based on the Moses and Frances Asch Collection of Folkways Recordings, is a celebration of "the sounds of the people." It is also soon to be a digital archive and research centre, student research scholarships, a concert series, and an opportunity for community partnerships and intercultural dialogue.


Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation has a commitment to enrich and sustain the lives and livelihoods of poor and excluded people throughout the world. In winter 2000-2001, it awarded the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage a grant and a program investment toward the pilot phase of the Smithsonian Global Sound project. This grant furthered the foundation's Creativity and Culture Program, whose goal is "to give full expression to the creative impulses of individuals and communities in order to enhance the well-being of societies and better equip them to interact in a globalized world."

If you are interested in supporting Smithsonian Global Sound, please email smithsonianglobalsound@si.edu.

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©2007 Smithsonian Institution

Produced with major support from The Rockefeller Foundation
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Smithsonian Global Sound

www.smithsonianglobalsound.org

"The ethnographic answer to iTunes" -- New York Times

Smithsonian Global Sound is an unparalleled experience of world music. Download music and sound from acclaimed international archives such as Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, the International Library of African Music, the Archives & Research Centre for Ethnomusicology in India, and Central Asian recordings from the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

Many tracks at www.smithsonianglobalsound.org are rare, newly preserved recordings that are now extensively cataloged and easily accessible around the world. Royalties support artists and archives, honoring and establishing intellectual property rights. By distributing these exciting sounds, Smithsonian Global Sound increases interest in traditional world music and promotes the appreciation of cultural diversity around the world.

Smithsonian Global Sound increases interest in traditional world music and promotes the appreciation of cultural diversity around the world. Royalties support artists and archives, honoring and establishing intellectual property rights. Many tracks are rare, newly preserved recordings that are now extensively cataloged and easily accessible. By distributing these exciting sounds around the world, Smithsonian Global Sound aims to inspire future generations of musicians to continue to promote their cultural heritage.

The Smithsonian Global Sound Experience

Browse, sample, and download thousands of beautiful and culturally significant tracks of music and sound. Don't know where to start? Listen to Radio Global Sound, watch video on Global Sound Live, read fascinating and in depth Artist Profiles, or discover exciting new music through our Musical Journeys from world music celebrities.

Downloads are available in versatile MP3 format or CD quality FLAC files. Our open files allow access through any computer or any portable media player. Smithsonian Global Sound is unique in that it offers a rich store of free material to accompany the audio, including original Folkways liner notes and new contextual information created by archival collaborators.

"Smithsonian Global Sound - the most exciting online music happening in quite some time." -- Salon.com

Enhancing Education via music in the Classroom

Smithsonian Global Sound is an invaluable tool for ethnomusicology, social sciences, and language arts educators. This virtual music library of the future gives teachers, students, and scholars instant access to original recordings and extensive documentation from diverse cultures all over globe. Many libraries from Harvard University to the University of Wisconsin to the Denver Public Library have already enhanced their collections with a subscription from Smithsonian Global Sound.

"The Smithsonian Global Sound site is a fabulous resource of authentic music, and I am looking forward to sharing it with my students." � DeKalb, Illinois
Middle school teacher

Supporting Musicians and Archives of Traditional Music

Royalties earned from the sale of music on the site go to the artists, their communities, the archives that preserve their recordings, and further development of Smithsonian Global Sound. These groundbreaking practices give musicians and artists a chance to maintain their cultures and profit from their work while forging new bonds between local sound archives and the communities whose music they preserve.

If you are an archive or collection interested in joining with Smithsonian Global Sound, please contact smithsonianglobalsound@si.edu.

"When we saw the blossoming of the Internet, we thought, what if we could use this as a device for opening up the archives? People who are not usually heard can project their voices around the planet." - Richard Kurin, Director of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage