Following decades of dictatorship and 14 years of civil war, the country’s classical and creative scenes have an opportunity to build from scratch. Andrei Popviciu speaks to the people hoping for a flourishing new era of art and sound.

In the Damascus Institute of Music’s halls, the sounds of instruments blend into a triumphant cacophony. With soaring brass, strings, wind instruments and percussion coming together as one, there’s a symphonic harmony rarely heard over the past half century.

Taking place in its rehearsal rooms, students practice on traditional Middle Eastern and Western classical instruments under the watchful eyes of their teachers. In the past, the institute’s most talented graduates would leave for Lebanon, the Gulf states, or Europe, where they could pursue careers without fear of censorship.

Less than two months before my visit to the institute, more than 50 years of dictatorship and 14 years of war came to an end. There is currently an air of enthusiasm in Syria, but the country is also at a crossroads, after Bashar al-Assad and his family were pushed out of power in less than a week. Now, artists hope for a new era, where freedom and music are no longer in conflict.