Hailed by critics and audiences alike for his “brilliant liquidity and meltingly beautiful tone” (The Times), clarinetist and composer Kinan Azmeh has gained international recognition for his distinctive voice across diverse musical genres. 

Originally from Damascus, Syria, Kinan Azmeh brings his music to all corners of the world as a soloist, composer and improviser. Notable appearances include Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Mozarteum, and in his native Syria at the opening concert of the Damascus Opera House.  He has appeared as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, London Philharmonic and Toronto Symphony, and has shared the stage with such luminaries as Yo-Yo Ma, Daniel Barenboim, Marcel Khalife, John McLaughlin and others.

Kinan’s compositions include several works for solo, chamber and orchestral music, as well as music for film, live illustration and electronics. Recent works were commissioned by The New York Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, among others, and concertos have been dedicated to him by several composers, including Kareem Roustom, Dia Succari and Dinuk Wijeratne.  In addition to his own Arab-Jazz Quartet CityBand and his Hewar trio, he has also been playing with the Silkroad Ensemble since 2012, whose 2017 Grammy Award-winning album “Sing Me Home” features Kinan as clarinetist and composer. His first opera “Songs for Days to Come” (sung in Arabic) was recently premiered in Osnabruck, Germany (2022) to great acclaim. He is a winner of an Opus Klassik award and was recently appointed to the National Council for the Arts.

Azmeh is a graduate of The Juilliard School as a student of Charles Neidich, as well as the Damascus High institute of Music and Damascus University’s School of Electrical Engineering. Additionally, he earned his doctorate degree in music from the City University of New York.

“Intensely soulful… Virtuoso” The New York Times

“[Azmeh’s] rhapsodic clarinet [is] able to seduce with a rare intimacy and explode in ecstasy.”  Los Angeles Times

“Spellbinding!”  The New Yorker

Website: https://kinanazmeh.com/