American public celebrates Turkic melodies and culture

WASHINGTON. May 2. KAZINFORM After a highly successful Nowruz celebration concert in Washington DC last year, the International Organization of Turkic Culture, TURKSOY, organized other concerts on April 23, at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, and at the Music Center at Strathmore in Maryland.

While the last year's concert showcased the rich culture and traditional heritage of Turkic nations, this year's events were dedicated to universal humanism and tolerance. The TURKSOY Symphony orchestra chose to perform Ahmed Adnan Saygun's classical pieces inspired by the philosophy of the thirteenth-century Turkish dervish Yunus Emre, whose poetry features divine love, commonality of human feelings and international friendship, the News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the US reads.

The concert, titled Turksoy Presents: Symphony of Voices from Turkic Lands, was seen by US officials, business executives and scholars. The orchestra is composed of 80 distinguished musicians from eight Turkic nations, including Kazakhstan.

The concert was co-produced by the Karabakh Foundation and Vokaliz Management and was supported by the Embassies of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkey and other Turkic speaking countries in Washington D.C.

Under the dynamic leadership of its General Secretary Duisen Kaseinov, TURKSOY has become more active, organizing cultural events and concerts showcasing Turkic nations' rich heritage not only in member countries, but also in Europe, the US and other parts of the world.

Mr. Kaseinov serves as a member of the Advisory Council of the Nowruz Commission . He has a long and distinguished record as a diplomat and scholar. Most recently, he served as Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan - Special Representative of Kazakhstan on  cultural and social issues and UNESCO.

Educated at Kurmangazy State Conservatory, Kasseinov has worked extensively in the fields of culture and music. He served as Minister of Culture of Kazakhstan, chairman of the Committee of Culture, Ministry of Education, Culture and Health and as Rector of Almaty State Conservatory.

Kasseinov has won numerous honors including the Kazakh National "Tarlan" Award, the Astana Medal of 10th Year in 2008, Medal of the 100th Anniversary of Kazan in 2005 and the Medal of Astana in 1998.