THE ORCHESTRA OF SYRIAN MUSICIANS

BIOGRAPHY

The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians

Since their 2009 collaboration & world tour with Gorillaz, the catastrophic Syrian conflict has forced a huge number of this wonderful orchestra to leave the country. In 2016, Africa Express reunited musicians from the country’s finest orchestras, and ‘The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians’ was formed to tour the UK and EU with a series of high profile guests.

This critically acclaimed live tour celebrated the power and joy of Syrian music through a series of sold-out concerts including the Holland Festival, Roskilde, Istanbul, Glastonbury Festival’s legendary pyramid stage and London’s Royal Festival Hall, which - through a partnership with Youtube - live-streamed the concert into Syrian communities across the globe. The concerts were recorded and made into a live album, available on all DSPs here: Transgressive Records, and on CD and vinyl here: Africa Express, Since this tour, many orchestra members have resettled in the UK, EU and around the world.

The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians works to regularly unite these orchestra members and keep the beauty of Syrian culture alive within their new communities. Shows and collaborations since 2016 include the Cambridge Folk Festival, WOMAD Festival, Bozar, Trafalgar Square with the Mayor of London, and a collaboration with the Liverpool Philharmonic that gave us an alternative take on the origins of St Georges Day.

Orchestra Members & Soloists.