Kinan Azmeh

Kinan Azmeh (, born June 10, 1976, in Damascus), is a Syrian clarinet player and composer of contemporary classical music based in New York City. Performing with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, the Seattle Symphony, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra, or the Syrian Symphony Orchestra, he has played as a soloist of classical works as well as of contemporary compositions. Life and career Born in Damascus, Syria in 1976, Azmeh began to play the clarinet at age six. Originally taking lessons on the violin, he switched to an even-handed instrument that left-handed players did not play too differently from right-handed players. Azmeh studied at the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus. At the University of Damascus, he majored in electrical engineering, at the same time pursuing his studies at the conservatory. Azmeh received his master’s degree and graduate diploma in music from the Juilliard School in New York City. In 1997, he was the first Arab musician to win the first prize in the Nicolai Rubinstein International Youth competition in Moscow, Russia. From there, he regularly traveled to Damascus, where he played in a Syrian chamber