Amir ElSaffar and Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch present INNER SPACES

Amir ElSaffar and Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch present

Wednesday, June 24, 2026 / Doors: 7:00 PM / Show: 7:30 PM

All Ages

Seated

This is a seated show with general admission, first-come-first-served seating. The Cedar is happy to reserve seats for patrons who require special seating accommodations. To request access accommodations, please go to our .

For Cedar presented shows, online ticket sales typically end one hour before the door time, and then, based on availability, tickets will be available at the door. Tickets purchased at the door will include a $1 Eventbrite fee.

Inner Spaces invites audiences on a transcendent musical journey, blending ancestral and futuristic sounds, acoustic and electronic elements, and global traditions. Led by Amir ElSaffar and Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch, this collaboration fuses maqam, jazz, raga, and contemporary classical styles into richly textured, boundary-defying performances. Their modular approach integrates improvisation and composition, creating immersive soundscapes that celebrate diversity and innovation - resonating deeply with global audiences.

Composer, trumpeter, santur player, and vocalist, Amir ElSaffar has been described as “uniquely well positioned to reconcile jazz and Arabic music” (The Wire) and as “one of the most promising figures in jazz today” (Chicago Tribune). A recipient of the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award and the 2018 US Artists Fellowship, ElSaffar is a classically trained trumpet expert who not only masters the language of contemporary jazz, but has also developed techniques for playing the microtones and idiomatic ornamentations of Arabic music—elements not usually heard on the trumpet.

He is also a transmitter of the centuries-old Iraqi maqam tradition—now endangered—which he actively practices as a vocalist and santur player. As a composer, ElSaffar has drawn on the subtle microtones of Iraqi maqam music to create an innovative approach to harmony and melody. He has received commissions to compose for large and small jazz ensembles, traditional Middle Eastern groups, chamber orchestras, string quartets, contemporary music ensembles, and dance companies.

To learn more about Amir ElSaffar:

• Visit his website here

Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch is a composer and sound artist. His interests range from pure electronics to compositions for theatre and dance, from soundtracks for visual media to interactive installations. In his work, he is consistently drawn to the idea of creating new connections between elements that would otherwise remain far apart.

Through projects outside the Western aesthetic—such as collaborations with Ballaké Sissoko or Amir ElSaffar—along with the creation of immersive sound installations like Square for IRCAM – Centre Pompidou or Atolls for the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, and collaborations with choreographers and directors such as Adolphe Binder, Michele di Stefano, Richard Siegal, and Stijn Celis, Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch explores composition and performance in relation to the spatial dimension of sound and the movement of bodies.

In this sense, a significant part of his work is devoted to 3D sound, multichannel composition, and holophony. He has received commissions from numerous institutions—IRCAM–Centre Pompidou, Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM), the Venice Biennale, the Gothenburg Opera, Musée du Quai Branly, Saarbrücken Opera, Ballet National de Marseille, Ruhrtriennale, Fondation Royaumont, the Haydn Foundation, FACE Foundation, among many others—and has performed worldwide.

To learn more about Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch:

• Visit his website here

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Avenue South, Minneapolis, United States

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