THE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OF THE KURMANGAZY KAZAKH NATIONAL CONSERVATORY AND KAZAKH TRADITIONAL MUSIC ENSEMBLE 'TURAN'
Kazakhstan's National Youth Symphony and the traditional music ensemble “Turan” take the stage at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and concert halls in Los Angeles, Boston, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Program features a world premiere work for Turan as soloists with orchestra by award-winning contemporary Kazakh composer Aktoty Raimkulova
Traditional Ensemble ‘Turan’
The North American debut of Turan and the Symphony Orchestra showcases two facets of Kazakhstan's rich musical culture: the ancient instrumental and vocal folk traditions of its historically nomadic people, and the European tr
"The students from the National Conservatory, all enormously talented, are ecstatic to be coming to the United States," said Charles Letourneau, Director of Special Projects at IMG Artists. "And we are equally excited to be hosting them here. In addition to performing at some of the country's most prestigious concert halls, they will engage in a number of cultural exchange and educational activities."
Under the direction of two rising star conductors, French conductor Christophe Mangou and Kazakh conductor Kanat Omarov, the program begins with the Symphony Orchestra performing Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet-Overture Fantasy, followed by Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, featuring celebrated Kazakh pianist Jania Aubakirova as soloist.
Kazakh traditional music ensemble Turan takes the stage to perform a traditional composition, titled Kerogly, in addition to traditional songs. Founded in 2008 by a group of students from the Kurmangazy Kazakh National Conservatory, the members of Turan are award-winning folk artists who have performed around the world. Turan performs on ancient Kazakh instruments, including the lute-like zhetygen, sherter, and dombra (all plucked); the kyl kobyz ("the most ancient bowed instrument on earth"); the flute-like sybyzgy and saz syrnay; together with a host of percussive instruments, mouth harps, and throat singing.
The program continues with the world premiere of Jamilya, a symphonic poem for Turan as soloists with orchestra, by award-winning contemporary Kazakh composer Aktoty Raimkulova. The program concludes with the William Tell Overture, the famous finale from Gioacchino Rossini's last opera and Leonard Bernstein's Overture to Candide. Watch Turan with orchestra playing Dala Syry by Aktoky Raimkulova.
Symphony Orchestra of the Kurmangazy Kazakh National Conservatory
The Symphony Orchestra of the Kurmangazy Kazakh National Conservatory was founded in 1947. The first leader of the orchestra was Professor K. Babayev. The Orchestra has a vast repertoire spanning Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Lizst, Saint-Saens, Bizet, Ravel, Frank, Mahler, Orf, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Musorgsky, Shostakovich, and many others. In recent years the orchestra has been actively collaborating with French conductors Christophe Mangou and Nicolas Kruger as part of its International Program of Cooperation with the Paris National High Conservatory of Music and Dance.
Many members of the Orchestra have participated in the International Student Symphony Orchestra of Central Asia, joining many talented young musicians from Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
International touring has always been a significant part of the Orchestra's 60-year history. They have performed in the Big Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory and in Tchaikovsky's hometown of Klin. The strings of the orchestra took part in the Festival of Chamber music in Germany in 2000, and the full orchestra participated in the International Festival of young orchestras (Young Euro Classic) in Berlin. In 2006 the Orchestra performed, with Christophe Mangou conducting, in London's Barbican Hall.
In 2007, the orchestra appeared in the Ninth International Festival of European Youth Orchestras at the Academy San Felice in Italy, and also gave concerts in Florence, Arezzo, and Montecatinni. In 2008 the orchestra made a successful tour of Germany that included concerts in Kassel, Frankenberg, Bonn, and once again in Berlin's prestigious Konzerthaus at the International Festival of young orchestras.
This tour is made possible by Chevron Corporation, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the ENRC-Комек corporative fund, SC Kazkommertsbank, KazRosGas LLP, Lufthansa, Siemens LLP, Yerlan Barlybayev, Kanat Bozumbayev, and the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United States of America.
Jania Aubakirova - piano
The renowned Kazakh pianist Jania Aubakirova is the laureate of international competitions, People’s Artist of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Holder of Order of Arts and Letters of France, Ekaterina the Great Order of II degree, rector of the Kazakh National Kurmangazy Conservatoire, professor.
At present pianist Jania Aubakirova is the one of the brightest classical music performers of the Central Asia. She leads concert activity as a pianist along with the great activity in social life not only of Kazakhstan, but also on international level.
She studied at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in the class of professor Lev Vlasenko and received lessons from celebrated Russian pianist Mikhail Pletnev.
1983 she won the Grand Prix of the Concours International Marguerite Long et Jacques Thibaud and a special prize of the same Concours, “For the Best Performance of Contemporary French Composers”.
After winning this competition, she went on an extensive tour, giving recitals in more than 90 cities of the then-Soviet Union. From 1985 she has been performing in the concerts halls of France, England, Germany, Japan, Korea, China, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Israel, Greece, Turkey.
In her native Kazakhstan Jania Aubakirova is a cherished musician and a prominent figure in the country’s cultural life: in 1984 she received the title of the Merited Artists of Kazakhstan and in 1991 – People’s Artists of Kazakhstan.
Jania Aubakirova has managed to tie her extensive concert activities with pedagogical work. Since 1983 she has been a professor at the Kazakh National Kurmangazy Conservatoire. 1997 she became rector of the Conservatoire. Due to her pedagogical activity, the Kazakh piano school has obtained a high level of performance.
Her pedagogical work has also found international recognition and she has often been invited to conduct master classes and give individual classes to young pianists all over the word.
In 1994 Mrs. Aubakirova founded a private college where students receive, along with all subjects also taught at other school, a profound tuition in music and arts. The Author’s College of Jania Aubakirova belongs to the best educational institutions of today’s Kazakhstan.
In 1998 the French Ministry of Culture awarded Jania Aubakirova the title of Chevalier de I’Ordre des Arts et des Letters.
1998 Jania Aubakirova organized the first independent music agency in Kazakhstan, “Classica”. Since then, the Agency has signed responsible for a number of outstanding music events. Among its most successful are “Les Saisons Kazakhes en France” of 1998 and 1999, the filming and editing of 24 music video films, production of 20 CD’s of the best performers of the classical music in Kazakhstan.
The first International Piano Competition in Almaty (Kazakhstan) organized by the Agency “Classica” in 2000 turned out to be major event in the whole Central Asia. In 2001 Jania Aubakirova and her Music agency launched new music training program for talented children “The Raising Stars of Kazakhstan”.
Jania Aubakirova regularly gives the concerts with well-known orchestras in Kazakhstan, the most famous halls in France, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Russia, Poland, Italy, the USA, Israel, Greece, and Hungary. She played in Salle Pleyel (Paris), Salle Gaveau (Paris), Salle Alfred Cortot (Paris), Concert Hall in Sapporo (Japan), Grand Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory, Philharmonic Grand Hall (Bratislava), Barbican Hall (London), Wigmore Hall (London), Vigoda Hall (Budapest), Moscow International Music House, Saint-Petersburg Philharmonic Hall, Concert House (Berlin).
Please see the website of the Artist: http://aubakirova.kz/
