National Sawdust Presents: Silkroad Up-Close featuring Shawn Conley and Kinan Azmeh Trio

National Sawdust Presents: Silkroad Up-Close is a National Sawdust–hosted performance series in Brooklyn that brings Silkroad’s cross-cultural chamber ethos into an intimate setting. Drawing on the nonprofit ensemble founded by Yo-Yo Ma, the programs pair contemporary-classical writing with improvisatory practice and close listening.

Silkroad is a not-for-profit ensemble launched in 1998 by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, built around collaboration across musical lineages linked, in spirit, to the old Eurasian trade routes. In New York City, the group has brought its “Silkroad Up-Close” format to National Sawdust, foregrounding small-group encounters rather than large-scale spectacle.

Shawn Conley is a contemporary classical musician whose work often sits at the intersection of notated music and improvisatory practice. In New York City, he has appeared at National Sawdust, including National Sawdust Presents: Silkroad Up-Close, and has performed in the Silkroad orbit alongside artists such as Yacouba Sissoko, Mike Block, Maeve Gilchrist, Seamus Egan, and Kaoru Watanabe.

Kinan Azmeh Trio is a contemporary classical ensemble led by Syrian clarinetist and composer Kinan Azmeh, whose work moves between notated writing and improvisation. In New York City they have appeared at National Sawdust in programs such as National Sawdust Presents: Silkroad Up-Close, alongside artists including Silkroad, Yacouba Sissoko, Mike Block, Maeve Gilchrist, Seamus Egan, and Kaoru Watanabe.

Kinan Azmeh is a Syrian-born clarinetist and composer based in New York City, working at the intersection of contemporary classical writing and improvisation. He has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras, from the New York Philharmonic to ensembles in Europe and the Middle East, while also pursuing small-group collaborations.