Kinan Azmeh – Hailed as a "virtuoso" by the New York Times and an "incredibly rich sound" by the CBC, Kinan Azmeh is one of Syria's rising stars. His distinctive sound, which crosses musical genres, is quickly gaining international recognition. 

Born in Damascus, Kinan was the first Arab to win the first prize at the 1997 Nicolai Rubinstein International Competition in Moscow. A graduate of New York's Juilliard School as a student of Charles Neidich, the Damascus High Institute of Music, where he studied with Shukry Sahwki, Nicolay Viovanof and Anatoly Moratof, and the Damascus University School of Electrical Engineering, Kinan is currently completing his doctoral studies at the City University of New York.

Kinan has performed worldwide as a soloist, composer and improviser. Notable performances include: Opera Bastille, Paris; Tchaikovsky Grand Hall, Moscow; Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall and the UN General Assembly, New York; Royal Albert Hall, London; Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires; Philharmonie, Berlin; Library of Congress, Kennedy Center, Washington DC; Mozarteum, Salzburg; and Damascus Opera House for its inaugural concert in his native Syria.



As a classical clarinetist, he has performed as a soloist with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, the Kiev Camerata, the Corasara Orchestra, and the Syrian Symphony Orchestra, among others, and has shared the stage with Marcel Khalife, Daniel Barenboim, Zakir Hussein Francois Rabbath, Solhi-al-Wadi, Manfred Leuchter, Kevork Mourad, and members of the Berlin Philharmonic, among others.

His compositions include various works for solo, orchestra and chamber music, film, live illustration and electronics.

His discography includes three albums with his ensemble HEWAR, several soundtracks for film and dance, and a duo album with pianist Dinuk Wijeratne. He is the artistic director of the Damascus Festival Chamber Music Ensemble, with whom he released an album of new contemporary Syrian chamber music written especially for the ensemble, and is on the advisory board of the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra.