The final installation of the Jamestown Concert Association’s 2017-18 season will feature Kinan Azmeh, above, and Dijuk Wijeratne in an 8 p.m. Friday concert at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.

The Jamestown Concert Association is set to conclude its 2017-18 season with the performance of a duo hailing from abroad.

Syrian-born clarinetist Kinan Azmeh and his accompanist Dijuk Wijeratne, a Sri Lankan-born Canadian on piano, will give an 8 p.m. concert at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on Friday to close out the JCA’s six-event series that kicked off last fall.

The theme of the season was “Transcending Borders,” underscoring music’s accepted nature as a universal language that knows no boundaries. This theme was exemplified by the artist lineup, which hail from countries such as Russia, Germany and Syria; as well as several U.S. states including Montana, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts and New York.

“This concert was what really clinched the title of the theme this year for us,” said Sally Ulrich, JCA president. “(Azmeh and Wijeratne) have this folk music background relative to their their native countries, but were both schooled at Juilliard so they’ve got top-notch musical training to go along with their individual backgrounds.”

Ulrich said the duo will play pieces they composed themselves, based on rhythms derived from their home countries. Additionally, they will perform on their instruments in an unconventional manner, including Wijeratne’s making use of the piano as a percussive instrument.

Azmeh’s distinctive sound across different musical genres has gained him international recognition as a clarinetist and composer, and has given him the opportunity to tour the world as soloist, composer and improviser. Notable appearances include: Opera Bastille, Paris; Tchaikovsky Grand Hall, Moscow; Carnegie Hall and the UN’s General Assembly, New York City; the Royal Albert Hall, London; Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires; der Philharmonie, Berlin; the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, Washington D.C.; the Mozarteum, Salzburg; Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie; and the Damascus opera house for its opening concert in his native Syria.

Azmeh is a graduate of New York’s Juilliard School as a student of Charles Neidich, and of both the Damascus High Institute of Music — where he studied with Shukry Sahwki, Nicolay Viovanof and Anatoly Moratof — and Damascus University’s School of Electrical Engineering in Syria. He earned his doctorate degree in music from the City University of New York in 2013.

For more information on Azmeh’s career and discography, visit kinanazmeh.com.

Wijeratne is a JUNO Award-winning composer, conductor and pianist whose boundary crossing work sees him equally at home in collaborations with symphony orchestras, string quartets, tabla players and DJs. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2004 as a composer, conductor and pianist performing with Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble.

A second Carnegie appearance followed in 2009, alongside tabla legend Zakir Hussain. Wijeratne has also appeared at the Kennedy Center; Opera Bastille; Teatro Colon; Lincoln Center, New York City; Sri Lanka; Japan; and across the Middle East.

Tickets to Friday’s concert are available at the door or can be picked up in advance from the Reg Lenna Center for The Arts, Chautauqua Music, and Germaine and Pappalardo. They can also be purchased by calling 484-7070 or 487-1522.

Sponsors for Friday’s concert are: Jamestown’s Rental Properties, the Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation, the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, Trinity Guitars and the United Arts Appeal of Chautauqua County. The concert is funded, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts’ Decentralization Regrant Program, with support from Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the NYS Legislature, and administered by the Cattaraugus County Arts Council.

The lineup for the JCA’s 2018-19 season will be announced at Friday’s concert, and season tickets will also be offered. For more information on the JCA, visit jamestownconcertassociation.org.