Silkroad Ensemble: Home Within

Home Within is an emotional accounting of home in a time of conflict. An audio-visual performance conceived by Syrian composer and clarinetist Kinan Azmeh and Syrian Armenian visual artist Kevork Mourad, the result is an impressionistic reflection on the unity of loss, longing, and the impact of tragedy on our sense of "home." Rather than follow a narrative, the artists document "home" within specific moments in Syria’s recent history, using the counterpoint between image and sound to establish a sense of sustained urgency and continued hope for both their homeland and communities around the world.

Home Within was originally created as a duo commission in response the the Syrian crisis in 2013; over a decade later, the work is taking on new life as a large-scale collaboration with the Silkroad Ensemble, featuring its creators Kinan Azmeh and Kevork Mourad alongside fellow ensemble artists Layale Chaker (violin), Shawn Conley (bass), Karen Ouzounian (cello), Issam Rafae (oud), and Shane Shanahan (drums/percussion).

HOME WITHIN ARTISTS
Kinan Azmeh
Kevork Mourad
Layale Chaker
Shawn Conley
Karen Ouzounian
Issam Rafea
Shane Shanahan

ABOUT SILKROAD
As a social-impact organization and home to a Grammy Award-winning musical ensemble, Silkroad works to inspire collaboration in innovative ways that add more equity and justice into the world through the power of the arts.

Yo-Yo Ma conceived Silkroad in 1998, recognizing the historical Silk Road as a model for radical cultural collaboration—for the exchange of ideas, tradition, and innovation across borders. In an innovative experiment, he brought together musicians from the lands of the Silk Road to co-create a musical language founded in difference, thus creating the foundation of Silkroad: both a touring ensemble comprised of world-class musicians from all over the globe and a social-impact organization working to make a positive impact across borders through the arts. Today, under the leadership of Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens, Silkroad leads social impact initiatives and educational programming alongside the creation of new music by the Grammy Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble. For more information, please visit Silkroad.org. Follow the Ensemble on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.