--Kinan Azmeh

Kinan Azmeh is the only Syrian and first Arab to win the first prize at the Nicolay Rubinstein international youth competition in Moscow, Russia, 1997. He holds two BA degrees, one in Clarinet performance from Damascus high institute of music and drama where he studied with Anatoly Moratof, and BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Damascus. He completed his Masters degree and graduate diploma in music from the Juilliard School in New York, studying with Charles Neidich.

Born in Damascus, Syria in 1976, Kinan studied at the Arab conservatory of music in Damascus with Shukry Shawkey and Nicolay Viovanof. He has appeared as a soloist in performances around the wold including solo appearances at the Tchaikovsky grand hall in Moscow in 1997, Solo performances with the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra during its first American tour (UCLA's Royce hall, Orange County performing arts center, Los-Angeles, USA) with Solhi Al-Wadi conducting, BBC Proms festival at the Royal Albert hall, London, the premiere of two clarinet concertos written for him by Dutch composer Guus Janssen at Lincoln center in New York, and by Zaid Jabri at the opening of the Syrian opera house 2004.

Dima Orsho 2006