On my first day in Almaty I had an intensive and inspiring meeting with Serik Nurmoldayev, director of SNECC and on the same time musician of the Turan Ensemble. We discussed many issues.
My relation to Kazakhstan, what is now one of the main focus countries of Kulteurasia has a lot to do with the Turan Ensemble. Turan was one of the first kazakh music groups I heard about. Their music was the main reason why I decided for my first Kazakhstan trip in 2014. For me from the first moment on kazakh music and instruments were very special. Turan was the starting point for me and it was an unforgetable pleasure to see them the first time life on stage in the „Museum of National Musical Instruments“ in Almaty.
I started research in internet about
musicians and instruments. Soon found information about Raushan Orazbaeva also. Today I am proud to be able to say that KultEurasia is cooperating with Raushan Orazbaeva, Tokzhan Karatai as well as now also with the SNECC working with three music groups: Turan Ensemble, Steppe Sons and Assyltas.
The sound of one musical instrument touched me deeply. So deeply that I wanted to learn how to play this instrument by myself: the kazakh kyl kobyz, a very old shamanistic string instrument which has two strings of horse hair. I bought a kyl kobyz and started with lessons by Tokzhan Karatai. Still I didn’t give up the dream to play the kyl kobyz myself but for the time being to establish KultEurasia is my main goal and I couldn’t find the time to continue. My big hope is to start again when I come back home with new inpiration from this Kazakhstan trip.
One day after the meeting with Serik I had the great opportunity to attend a rehearsal of the young group Steppe Sons and talk to the musicians about their group which was established only one year ago and also their first trip to Austria this March. They participated in the World Wood Day festival in Graz/Stübing and loved their stay in Austria.
The repertoire of Steppe Sons includes both ethnic pieces and ethno-jass. They sing in Kazakh as well as English language. The special feature of their music is that they purely use traditional mucical instruments even when they play modern music pieces. One of their aimes is to raise an interest for the traditional instruments among the youth. The musicians want to help to preserve the traditional instruments.
Yesterday also I could see the great Steppe Sons on stage.
Kultureller Dialog in Eurasien 