Bringing together the talents of four outstanding musicians from four countries with rich histories and cultures. Each musician gifted in their own right and well known in their own country bring their distinctive musical gifts and sounds to this ensemble.

Hussein Zahawy, Yusuf Mahmoud and Matthaios Tsahouridis have formed this exciting ensemble bringing together Kurdish, Afghanistan and Greek styles of music. "A dialogue among different cultures," Hussein Zahawy...

We were fortunate enough to be invited to attend this concert in this remarkable acoustic space in the heart of the City. It was a wonderful demonstration of virtuosity in solo and ensemble settings: three of the musicians are members of a group called Music Beyond Borders with the fourth - the qanun player - as special guest for the evening.

They performed two sets of varied set pieces and vehicles for improvisation. Particularly impressive were Mahmoud's vocals, he sang two songs from his native Afghanistan so beautifully that many were weeping - both off and on the stage. By the time the evening ended many of the audience were up and dancing and it was a real wrench to let the musicians stop playing. The two one hour sets had passed by in what seemed like just a few minutes.

The best live music I've heard in a long while. I can't remember the last time my hands ached from applauding.

Posted by Adam Blake on Sun May 31, 2009 00h23 at Charlie Gillett's 'The Sound of the World'

Sulaimani Art palace on Friday evening became an extraordinary scene of embracing five different cultures through art, loading the hearts of hundreds of audiences with joys and passion.

Managing to break what the politics has created of walls of discrimination, five great musicians, a Kurd, Greek, Afghani, Iranian and an American played, with a high style, their classic music and for almost 3 hours filled the atmosphere of the hall with emotion.

Matthaios Tsahouridis, Hussein Zahawy, Sohrab Pournazeri, Tariq Snare, Yusuf Mahmoud are the five musicians who brought harmony to the soul and mind of Kurdish audiences and left them in astonishment for those with their talents.

They came to the city of Sulaimani upon an invitation from Kurdsat channel. Each of the musicians most brilliantly performed a masterpiece of his nation's classic music, starting from the oldest nation of Europe to Asia and ending up in Middle East, specifically in Kurdish.

"This great performance of those artists and their harmony in playing their instruments in this fabulous night succeeded to do what politics and states can never do" one audience said. "This show uncovered the reality of humanity, proved that nations can get along despite their differences in culture, language and thinking" he added.

Bringing those musicians from five different countries gave an international identity to the concert, grouped under the tent of one language that was music. "Art can do what politics can not"

Please read the LA TIMES special article review.