Kinan Abou-afach is an acclaimed cellist, oud player, composer, and recipient of a Pew Fellowship in 2013. The Syrian-born musician began his musical studies at the Arabic Institute of Music in Damascus, where he eventually joined the National Syrian Symphony Orchestra and performed with the Middle Eastern Ensemble. He holds a Bachelors Degrees in cello and oud performance from the Higher Institute of Music and a Masters Degree in Cello Performance from DePaul University School of Music. As a composer, Abou-afach crafts music that is saturated with unique scales, rhythmic grooves, and improvisation-esque progressions, keeping with some traditions while sounding contemporary. He works on creating a sound based loosely on the Arabic modal traditions known as maqam, while using elements from the western traditions (Classical, Jazz, Electronic, Musique concrete). He has composed for concerts, as well as film, live theater and live visual art.
