Events
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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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“Capturing Practice” by Mukaddas Mijit and Rachel Harris
Mukaddas Mijit and Rachel Harris discussed the process of repertoire selection and rehearsal leading up to the concerts at the ADPRex “Capturing Practice” conference in Singapore in August 2025. Their discussion focuses on the research potential of film to capture processes of creativity in musical encounters across borders.
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Symposium in Baku April 2026
“Maqam Beyond Nation” is organizing an international symposium together with Azerbaijan National Conservatory, and the ICTMD Study Group on Maqām. This symposium will be focused on both historical and current connections between Azerbaijani mugham and cognate maqam branches in the Middle East, Central Asia, and beyond. The symposium will take place on April 29-30, 2026, at the Azerbaijan National Conservatory in Baku, and will function as the 12th Symposium of the ICTMD Study Group […]
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“Chegra Bilmas Maqom”A collaboration on Central Asian Maqām across Borders
by Rachel Harris On stage at Ala Space, Almaty. Photo by Mukaddas Mijit In October 2025, we brought together a group of musicians from Tashkent and Almaty for two concerts based on a creative exploration of maqām traditions from Central Asia. Abror Zufarov (vocals, sato), Guzal Muminova (dotar) and Sherzod Nazarov (doira), all teachers at the Yunus Rajabi Institute in Tashkent, have been working with Almaty-based independent musicians, Saniyam Ismail […]
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Masterclass with Ilyos Arabov
On 14 January 2025, SOAS Department of Music hosted Honoured Artist of Uzbekistan, Ilyos Arabov, to discuss and demonstrate his art. An outstanding singer, instrumentalist, and maqām master from Uzbekistan, Arabov has performed internationally and won prestigious prizes at festivals worldwide. He is recognised as one of the leading performers of Central Asian Shashmaqom and heads the instrumental performance department at the Yunus Rajabi Institute in Tashkent. In a wide-ranging […]
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Ensemble Bezmara performing in Venice
20 November, 6pm, Sala degli Arazzi, Giorgio Cini Foundation, Island of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice Ensemble Bezmârâ ‘Ajamlar: Persian composers at the Ottoman court between the 17th and 18th centuries Fikret Karakaya, conductor, çeng harpİhsan Özer, santūr zitherKemal Caba, rebab fiddleSerap Çağlayan, kanūn zitherFurkan Resuloğlu, kopuz luteAhmed Şahin, ney fluteBekir Şahin Baloğlu, lutes ‘ūd and şahrūdKamil Bilgin, daire frame drum
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THE 2024 BLACKING LECTURE
will be given by Professor Rachel Harris, School of Arts, SOAS University of London 15 November 2024, 5.30-7pm GMT at Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre, SOAS. To book an in person ticket please go to >> Border Listening: Ethnography and Performance Beyond Nation Drawing inspiration from research at the intersection of sound studies, ethnomusicology and anthropology, Rachel Harris considers how listening at the borders can inform our ethnographic and creative practice. In the lecture she will reflect […]
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SEM 2024 annual conference
Rachel Harris and Polina Dessiatnitchenko will be presenting their work as part of a panel titled “Maqam Creativity on the Borders: Musical Alternatives to the Nation-State” at the upcoming SEM 2024 annual conference held online! This panel, organized by Polina and chaired by Denise Gill (Stanford University), will also feature presentations by Banu Senay (Macquarie University) and Munir Gur (Stanford University). Different case studies from Central Asia, the Mediterranean, Anatolia, […]
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International Maqom Festival, June 26-28, 2024, Uzbekistan
Rachel Harris and Saeid Kordmafi attended Uzbekistan’s 2nd International Maqom Festival which was held in Zomin province, in the Jizzakh region of southeastern Uzbekistan. They presented papers at the Maqom Art Conference, organised by the Yunus Rajabi Institute as part of the festival, alongside colleagues from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, France and the US. Rachel Harris spoke on the historical, religious and musical connections between the maqām traditions of Uzbekistan’s Fergana Valley, […]