Lecture and Demonstration - Nauryz with Roksonaki

A smash hit at the 2002 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Roksonaki pioneered the creation of a unique sound that integrates ancient Kazakh instrumentation with contemporary rock and jazz using motifs drawn from Eurasia's indigenous religious traditions. Roksonaki are Ruslan Kara,Yerlan Sabitov, and Galymzhan Sekeyev, with Dr. Dina Amirova, folklorist, Dr. Helen Faller, anthropologist. Co-sponsored by the Center for Chinese Studies, Center for Korean Studies, Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, Center for Russian and East European Studies, International Institute, and others. Free. See related event on March 20.
Roksonaki's tour in the U.S. in made possible through the Central Asian Cultural Exchange, with collaboration from the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United States of America. The tour is generously supported by Air Astana, Lancaster Group, the Kazakh-American Business Association, Keleshek Kazakhstan Public Foundation, and Turkish Airways.