Posts by admin
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City of Poets – A Central Asian Collaboration Oct 2026
This UK concert tour reunites musicians across the 20th century Soviet-Chinese divide through an original exploration of the musical traditions of the Central Asian Uzbeks and Uyghurs. Supported by the London-based research project, Maqām Beyond Nation, this group of leading musicians from different sides of the border, led by Abror Zufarov and Saniyem Ismail, have been exploring musical connections and shared poetic texts to create an original concert repertoire. The programme […]
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Displacement and Remembrance
New Article Published:Displacement and Remembrance: mediated listening among exile Uyghur Sufis Rachel Harris Part of the special issue “Liturgies amplifiées”Archives de sciences sociales des religions, vol. 214 | avril-juin 2026, p107-130.https://doi.org/10.4000/16tj2 Abstract: This article engages with the notion of «amplified liturgies» through a focus on migrant practices of mediated listening among displaced Uyghur Naqshbandi Sufi followers. Cut off from family and community in the homeland, they maintain connections with other […]
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Modal Migration – an international conference
Modal Migration, Maqām Beyond Nation – an international conference Hosted by Maqām Beyond Nation and the Middle East and Central Asia Music Forum Venue: SALT Lecture Theatre, Paul Webley Wing, SOAS University of London Time: Thursday 17 September – Friday 18 September • 9am-5:30pm This conference explores the contemporary mobilities, cosmopolitan settings, and cross-border potentials of the diverse but interlinked musical world of maqām. The conference works against the grain […]
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“Sema” -a dance collaboration between Sashar Zarif and Alim Qasimov
29-30 April 2026, Azerbaijan National Conservatory, Baku As part of the “Mugham Beyond Borders” symposium at the Azerbaijan National Conservatory in April 2026, we invited Sashar Zarif to share his research and to present a curated excerpt from “Dancing Mugham,” the path-breaking collaboration between two great artists born on different sides of the Azerbaijan-Iran border. Alim Qasimov was born 1957 in a small Soviet commune north of Baku. He was […]
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Third International Maqom Festival in Namangan
Third International Maqom Festival in Namangan, Uzbekistan, 23-25 June 2026 The opening ceremony TThis third edition of Uzbekistan’s Maqom Festival, held in the city of Namangan, provided another extraordinary display of song, dance, and pageantry. The spectacular opening ceremony showcased many of Uzbekistan’s finest musicians, dancers and singers, who came from across the country to perform. Reflecting the close links between festivals and infrastructure development in Central Asia, the Maqom Festival was held in a huge arena on the edge of Namangan, in the middle of the recently opened New Uzbekistan […]
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Azerbaijani Mugham across Borders
On April 29-30, 2026, “MAQAM” members Polina Dessiatnitchenko and Rachel Harris, in collaboration with the Azerbaijan National Conservatory (hereafter ANC) and the ICTMD “Maqam” group, organized an international symposium “Azerbaijani Mugham Across Borders.” The two-day event featured a keynote speech by Jean During, individual papers, heated debates, and wonderful music performed by students from the ANC. The opening ceremony commenced with a speech by the Rector of ANC, Kamila Dadashzade […]
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Uzbek Maqom Workshop at SOAS with Ilyos Arabov
By Eugene Leung Ilyos Arabov, Honoured Artist of Uzbekistan, Professor and Head of the Instrumental Performance Department at the Yunus Rajabiy Institute for National Musical Arts, gave a workshop at SOAS on 26 February 2026. The aim of the workshop was to allow musicians with proficient with other maqām traditions to have a first experience in performing maqom-based Uzbek music, with an emphasis on its intricate ornamentations, also known as nola (“sighing”) in Uzbek. […]
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Concert at SOAS by the Ilyos Arabov Ensemble
Photo credits to © Mike Skelton On 27 February 2026, the Ilyos Arabov Ensemble performed at the Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre, SOAS University of London, presenting the rich musical and dance traditions of Bukhara. Ilyos Arabov: Vocals, Tanbur (long-necked plucked lute), Sato (long-necked bowed lute), Dutor (long-necked plucked lute), Doira (frame drum) Farangiz Makhmudova: DutorNasimkhon Muzaffarov: DoiraVosidjon Makhmudov: Ghijjak (short-necked bowed lute)Dilorom Madrakhimova: Dance Where Boundaries Dissolve Bukhara and its musics testify to the cultural diversity of […]
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Music and Dance of Bukhara: Spiritual Heartland of Central Asia
Group: Ilyos Arabov Ensemble Date: 27 February 2026 Time: Doors open at 7pm Venue: Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre, SOAS University of London, WC1H 0XG Ilyos Arabov, born in the ancient city of Bukhara and now recognised one of the finest musicians in Uzbekistan, leads this internationally acclaimed ensemble in a programme of Shashmaqom (the music nurtured in the court of the Emir of Bukhara) and traditional songs for celebrations, with dances […]
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Bastakor creativity in Uzbekistan
Fieldwork: Researching bastakor creativity in Uzbekistan, Sept-Dec 2025 Eugene Leung travelled to Uzbekistan between September and December to conduct fieldwork for his PhD dissertation, on creativity in Uzbek classical music. Based in Tashkent, he was attached to the Yunus Rajabiy Institute of National Musical Arts (UzMMSI), immersing in its musical life, whilst also travelling to cities such as Bukhara, Samarqand and Andijan to engage with musicians and musical institutions in these cities. […]