A graduate of The Juilliard School and Oberlin Conservatory, American cellist Avery Waite is an active performer, composer and international music education advocate based in India. Fascinated by the possibilities of cross-cultural musical dialogues, he is a recipient of a 2016-2017 Fulbright Grant to study Hindustani music in Delhi. Avery has performed and taught at music programs around the world, including in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Jamaica, El Salvador and many other countries. Avery is on faculty with American Voices, a US state department organization at the forefront of cultural diplomacy through its work in cross-cultural engagement. Avery is an active composer and arranger. Inspired by his experiences teaching and performing abroad, he has done extensive arranging of traditional Indo-Afghan, Central Asian and Kurdish folk music. Avery performs this music with his ensemble Drifting East and the group recently released its debut album entitled Songs and Melodies of Afghanistan.