Allegra E. Klein is a violinist, arts administrator and international affairs specialist from New York City. After receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Music from Harvard University, she trained as a Suzuki teacher at the School for Strings in New York and taught Suzuki violin at Queens College’s preparatory division.  She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Global Affairs at New York University and was recently invited to write an article for the Cultural Diplomacy Institute’s online publication, Cultural Diplomacy News.

A leader in the music management field, Ms. Klein has worked for Carnegie Hall, Sony Classical, the Marlboro and Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festivals and the New York Youth Symphony. Shortly after September 11, 2001, she founded Musicians For Harmony, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting understanding and peace among nations through music.

As part of this mission, she traveled to Baghdad in 2003 to bring musical instruments and supplies to the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, and returned to northern Iraq in 2007 to teach for the U.S. State Department-sponsored Iraqi Unity Performing Arts Academy. The following year, she was named Director of Education and Cultural Affairs for the first-ever National Youth Orchestra of Iraq. Her articles about these experiences were published in Strings and Symphony magazines, and her cross-cultural work has also been profiled in the New York Sun, the New York Daily News and Chamber Music magazine.

In demand as an arts education and cultural affairs specialist, Ms. Klein spoke at the United Nations in 2006 about the role of the arts in educating girls in developing countries, and she was invited back the following spring for a roundtable discussion on how the arts can bridge gaps between cultures. In 2009, she participated in conferences on Music and Cultural Diplomacy at Northeastern University in Boston and on Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution for 3D Security in Washington, D.C.