Arise! — Journey of Resilience

Nawras Altaky & Ensemble

📅 5 April 2026
🕗 20:00
📍 Beauforthuis, Austerlitz

Nawras Altaky presents Arise! — Journey of Resilience, a powerful musical project that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and shows how art can emerge from adversity.

Arise! is based on Altaky’s debut album and forms a deeply personal yet universal artistic statement. His compositions explore themes of displacement, hope, survival, and the healing power of human connection, drawing on his own life experiences while speaking to a much broader shared reality. Musically, Altaky weaves together traditional Arabic maqam, contemporary classical techniques, and jazz harmonies, creating a sound world that is both rooted in tradition and unmistakably contemporary.

Inspired by stories of perseverance and transformation, Altaky’s music pays tribute to “the survivors of the world” and to “dreamers” who continue to believe in beauty, even in times of chaos. Arise! is not only a concert programme, but also a testimony to the enriching power of cultural exchange — music that resonates across borders, cultures, and generations.

Ensemble

Arise! is performed by an international ensemble of musicians from the worlds of improvisation, jazz, world music, and contemporary classical music:

• Nawras Altaky — oud & voice

• Siebren Smink — guitar

• Kinan Abuakel — buzuq

• Remy Dielemans — double bass

Additional musicians (to be announced):

• Wind instruments — TBA

• Strings / low brass — TBA

• Percussion — TBA

Together, the ensemble creates a vivid and dynamic musical landscape filled with intense melodies, layered textures, and expansive improvisations, allowing space for both intimacy and collective energy.

About Nawras Altaky

Based in Utrecht, Nawras Altaky is a Syrian-Dutch composer, singer, and oud player who has quickly developed into one of the most distinctive artistic voices in the Dutch music scene. He has been praised for his ability to transcend genres while remaining deeply rooted in tradition, and was appointed Composer of the City of Utrecht.

Altaky has worked as a composer and performer with leading venues and festivals including BIMHUIS, North Sea Jazz, November Music, Grachtenfestival, Paradox, and the International Chamber Music Festival. He has also composed music for theatre, film, and dance. In 2025, he was artist-in-residence at BIMHUIS, where Arise! was further developed as part of their Reflex series.

With Arise! — Journey of Resilience, Nawras Altaky invites the audience into a musical space where vulnerability and strength coexist — a space in which sound becomes a vessel for memory, healing, and the courage to imagine new futures.