Kazakh dombyra players invited to participate in international Costa Brava Music Festival

Kazakh dombyra players were invited to a major international music festival, where they will represent Kazakhstan. It will take place in Spain from 20 to 24 September. Temirlan Olzhabay and Yernat Nauryz will perform two pieces. In the first round, the musicians will perform the work of the Italian violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini 'Caprice No. 24’. And in the second round, for the first time in the history of the music industry, they will play the soundtrack to the hit TV series ‘Game of Thrones’ on dombyra. They promise that it will be an unforgettable performance. Due to the pandemic, the first round of the competition will be held online.

“This festival takes place every year in Spain’s Costa Brava region. And this year we received an invitation to represent our country in this festival. Of course, it is a great honor for us. We will be participating as musical guests and as contestants. So, of course, it’s a big responsibility for us too. I think we’ll surprise everyone there,” Olzhabay said.

Young and talented dombyra players are the ambassadors of the culture of Kazakhstan at the Tokyo Olympics. Duo ‘Temirlan - Yernat’ was founded in 2017. During this time, in addition to Golden Time Talent, they won a gold medal at an international competition in the U.S. They also performed in Turkey, Israel and Europe, as well as with Dimash Kudaibergen in China. The musicians say that the main goal for them is to popularize the Kazakh traditional instrument around the world and give listeners the opportunity to enjoy the unique sound of dombyra.

Translation by Assem Zhanmukhanova

Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova