Quincy Jones is State Department’s first Peace Through Music Award as part of new diplomacy push

By MARIA SHERMAN
AP Music Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Quincy Jones will receive the inaugural Peace Through Music Award at a launch event for the U.S. Department of State’s new Global Music Diplomacy Initiative. Jones will be given the award in Washington on Wednesday at the launch spearheaded by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, which boasts of an eclectic lineup of American and international talent across generations and genres. Dave Grohl, Mickey Guyton, Herbie Hancock, Rakim, LADAMA and more will perform. The launch includes mentorship programs, a visiting scholar program and music-focused efforts to promote an English-language learning curriculum abroad. Blinken says music has a unique ability to “connect cultures and tell the American story around the world.”