Young Afghan Orchestra

The Afghan Youth Orchestra (AYO) performs for the first time in the main hall of Theatro Circo for a concert that celebrates the strength of youth and the transformative power of music. Exiled in Braga since 2022, after the Taliban regime took power, the AYO brings together young Afghan musicians who have found a new place in Portugal to rebuild their lives and artistic voices.

Heir to the pioneering work of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music — awarded the Polar Music Prize in 2018 — the orchestra stands as a symbol of cultural resistance, promoting diversity and gender equality, causes that made it a target of persecution in its country of origin.

Founded by Ahmed Sarmast and conducted by Tiago Moreira Da Silva, the Afghan Youth Orchestra combines Afghan and Western instruments in a repertoire that blends tradition and modernity. This concert is part of an international tour that has already taken in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Beethoven Festival in Bonn and the United Nations in Geneva. A unique moment, where every note is an expression of freedom, identity and the future.