The Kinan Azmeh CityBand in Syria for the First Time: Two Concerts in Aleppo and Damascus

As Part of Ettijahat - Independent Culture’s Fifteenth Anniversary Programming in 2026

In the Midst of Change: 15 Years of Ettijahat

Ettijahat – Independent Culture is excited to invite you to attend two concerts by the Kinan Azmeh CityBand, taking place in Aleppo and Damascus. Syrian composer and clarinetist Kinan Azmeh will be joined by guitarist Kyle Sanna and drummer John Hadfield.

The concerts mark the artist’s first return to perform in Syria with members of the CityBand. They present an exploratory musical experience that brings together composition and improvisation, creating a live dialogue on stage between clarinet, guitar and drums.

The music draws on Syria’s plural cultural and musical memory, bringing jazz improvisation and Syrian melodies into conversation with classical music. Together, these elements form creative pathways and a musical identity that seek to renew connections with communities and audiences.

For the musician, the two concerts carry a meaning that extends beyond returning to the stage. They mark a return to Syria’s creative life and an encounter with audiences, place and community through music.

The Kinan Azmeh CityBand was founded in New York in 2006. Since then, the project has developed a musical language in which classical music, jazz and improvisation intersect with the musical memory of Syria. The project has performed at leading theatres, concert halls and music venues around the world.

Azmeh is one of the leading contemporary Syrian composers, clarinetists and improvisers. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with artists and institutions including Yo-Yo Ma, Daniel Barenboim, John McLaughlin, the New York Philharmonic and the Silkroad Ensemble. His orchestral solo album “Uneven Sky” received Germany’s Opus Klassik Award in 2019.

The concerts form part of Ettijahat – Independent Culture’s fifteenth-anniversary programme in 2026. Through this programme, we continue working to keep art and culture present in public life across Syria, reaching diverse communities throughout the country as spaces for encounter and experimentation, and for creating new relationships with our realities and possible futures.

The event is presented in partnership with Madaniya which is a Syrian-led and Syrian-funded initiative, a collective of Syrian civil society organisations working to mobilise civic actors around a set of shared values, aiming to reclaim the political agency of the Syrian civic space , Karasi Collective, Rock Paper Scissors, SARD and The Hub, and is supported by the Norwegian Embassy to Lebanon and Syria Within the framework of a joint project aimed at strengthening the cultural sector in Syria in 2026–2027, with further support from the French Embassy in Syria.

Photograph of the band is taken by by Joanna Janke

To reach the event Facebook Page of the Aleppo concert on 01 September 2026, please click here. 

To reach the event Facebook Page of the Damascus concert on 02 September 2026, please click here.