How do Syrian musicians performing with German musicians and for German audiences selectively alter their music to accommodate Western musical sensibilities? How do encounters between Arabic and Western musical traditions generate new aesthetic expressions for both Syrian and German musicians? This study addresses these questions through a case study of the Syriab Ensemble, a group of Syrian and German musicians performing diverse musical styles. While existing research has examined Syrian popular music in Germany and musical practices in refugee contexts (Brunner 2022, Pistric 2020), little attention has been paid to the strategies Syrian musicians use to adapt to new cultural and professional environments, or to the ways Arabic musical practices shape German performers’ approaches. As an Arab scholar and ‘ud player, I offer a perspective often underrepresented in European-dominated scholarship. Drawing on twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork, including performance observations and interviews, this study explores how Syrian musicians reshape their repertoires for German audiences and how German musicians learn to engage with maqam-based music. Musical examples from the ensemble’s repertoire are compared with performances from Syria to assess the effects of migration and intercultural collaboration. The analysis focuses on harmonization techniques, maqam theory, rhythm, genre, style, and performance context. I argue that the ensemble’s musical practices reveal complex processes of negotiation, adaptation, and reciprocal exchange rather than one-sided assimilation. By highlighting these dynamics, the study contributes to broader debates in ethnomusicology, world music analysis, and minority music studies, emphasizing migration as a site of creative transformation and mutual influence.