Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra
Ensemble
The Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra (AAO) specialises in various musical forms, from Granada all the way to Baghdad, from a range of eras and styles: from the rich Arab-Andalusian repertoire to mystical Eastern music, and from the refined improvisational music from the Arabian world to folk music from the Maghreb.
The AAO was founded in 2011 with the goal of connecting Andalusian heritage in the field of arts and culture with the present. The AAO not only brings this music back to Europe, but combines this with (existing as well as newly written) stories, poems, and theatre. Over the course of the years, the orchestra has worked with renowned musicians from a range of genres, from Arabian (Marcel Khalife and Sami Yusuf) to jazz (Metropole Orkest) and flamenco (Estrella Morente). In 2024, the AAO won the Cultuurfonds Prize, which has been awarded yearly since 2010 to a person or organisation of significant importance to culture in The Netherlands.
