SEATTLE -- The Seattle Symphony held a hastily arranged concert Wednesday night entitled "Music Without Borders," which was led by musicians from countries impacted by President Donald Trump's immigration order.
As he sat in his dressing room at Benaroya Hall Wednesday night, clarinetist Kinan Azmeh prepared like any other performance.
Tea in hand, the Grammy Award-nominated musician had never been to Seattle before. And he nearly did not make it here at all.
"I'm still one of the lucky ones," said Azmeh of his time held up in Lebanon waiting for the U.S. to allow him back home, "There are some families who are shattered by this."
Azmeh is Syrian but has lived in New York for 16 years. And the 'this' he refers to is Trump's executive order on immigration, restricting it for people from seven mostly Muslim countries.
The order is now held up in a U.S. Appeals Court process.
"I think of what the Syrians went through," said Azmeh, "My country, men, and women in the last six years, people are desperate for anything.
"Now, having to deal with this too, people who try to leave, to find a healthier life elsewhere," he said, "It's quite shocking.
Video: Listen to the performance
Azmeh flew to Seattle to take part in a hastily arranged concert at Benaroya Hall. The free event, called Music Beyond Borders, was organized by the Seattle Symphony.
"This is the only major American orchestra doing this," explained Principal Trumpet David Gordon, who sparked the idea on Friday. "This is out of the mainstream of what we normally do as straight ahead, classical musicians."
The performance was not intended to be a protest, but rather a show of solidarity with people and artists from the seven affected countries. Musicians represented four of those seven nations.
"The power of music is its ability to find commonality through illumination of the human condition and human experience," said Gordon.
Tickets were free and quickly sold out. The hall was full, and organizers streamed the concert live online and in a rehearsal room inside.
"When I play the clarinet," said Azmeh, "I know that it won't stop a bullet. It doesn't bring somebody back home. It doesn't do many things.
"But what I know it does is inspire people to act. And it moves people."
