Two years ago this May, minutes before the Minnesota Orchestra conductor, Osmo Vanska, took the podium at the National Theater of Cuba in Havana, a decision was made in a cramped backstage dressing room. The operations manager delivered the message to the musicians warming up onstage, where it spread from the back to the front of the orchestra like a nervous game of telephone: “Yes.”

The lights went up, the conductor walked on, the audience sat expectantly, and Mr. Vanska pointed his baton. In the clarinet section, I rose to my feet along with the rest of the orchestra, and we played the Cuban national anthem to stunned attendees. “The Star-Spangled Banner” followed, eliciting more gasps from the seats.

The stories told about that moment, both in Havana and back in the United States, are a testament to the power of arts diplomacy. Our two anthems, played back-to-back in a state-owned theater, didn’t elicit boos, as some of us had feared, but tearful cheers. The warm welcome we received from the citizens of a closed country, most of whom had never met an American, came along with a surprising openness to American culture. And this from a country we Americans continue to punish.

President Trump announced on Friday plans to roll back parts of President Barack Obama’s policy for engaging Cuba. Americans will be restricted in taking private trips to Cuba, and group educational tours will be closely monitored to deter people from going as tourists. American companies will face heavy restrictions on doing business there.