Airat Ichmouratov

Airat Rafailovich Ichmouratov (, Tatar Cyrillic: Айрат Рафаил улы Ишмурат, born 28 June 1973) is a Russian-born Canadian composer, conductor and klezmer clarinetist of Volga Tatar descent. He is a founding member and clarinetist of award-winning Montreal-based klezmer group Kleztory and invited professor at Laval University in Quebec, Canada. Early life Ichmouratov was born and raised in Kazan, the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. He is the second child of Razima Ichmouratova (Gatina) and Rafail Ichmouratov. Airat Ichmouratov is a representative of a well-known Tatar theatrical dynasty. His grandfather, Riza Fakhrutdinovich Ishmurat (Ishmuratov), was a playwright, publicist, and director. He was an Honored Artist of the RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic). His grandmother, Rashida Abdulazyanovna Ziganshina, was an actress at the Galiaskar Kamal Tatar Academic Theatre, as well as a playwright and public figure, and was a People’s Artist of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Russian Federation. At the age of seven, Ichmouratov began his musical education at Kazan Children’s Music School No. 3, named after Röstäm Yaxin. There, he initially