  Kinan Azmeh: Clarinet, Composer   Hailed as a Virtuoso and Intensely Soulful by the New York Times and Spellbinding by the New Yorker, Kinan Azmeh is one of Syria’s rising stars. Born in Damascus, Kinan was the first Arab to win the premier prize at the 1997 Nicolai Rubinstein International Competition, Moscow. A graduate of New York’s Juilliard school, Kinan earned his doctorate degree in music from the CUNY in 2013. He is artistic director of the Damascus Festival Chamber Music Ensemble, and a frequent guest faculty at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music. Kinan is also a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble.   kinanazmeh.com   