Professor Dusen Kaseinov, who is the Secretary General of the International Organisation of Turkic Cultures (TURKSOY) and a professor of music.

Professor Kaseinov began his music education  at the Tattimbet Karagandy Music School in Kazakhstan in 1961. He pursued his studies at the Kurmangazi State Institute of Fine Arts between 1965 to 1970. This is the leading music tertiary institution in Kazakhstan. From 1972 to 1978 he studied at the Tchaikovsky State Conservatoire in Moscow whilst also a senior lecturer at the Kurmangazi State Conservatoire in Almaty.

Whilst still a student, Professor Kaseinov worked as a member of the Chamber Orchestra of the Kazak Radio and Television in Almaty, Kazakhstan. 

Professor Kaseinov performed as a member of  the Mexican Philharmonic Orchestra for three years. He then returned to Kazakhstan and was appointed Chair of the Department of Violin at the Kurmangazi State Conservatoire of Almaty where he was the Rector between 1989 and 1997.

Professor Kaseinov was then appointed Chairman of the Cultural Affairs  Committee and Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In 2003, he was appointed Minister of Culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and between 2004 and 2005, he worked as Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Between 2005 and 2008, he worked as the Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Cultural and Social Issues in the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Since 2008, Professor Kaseinov has been the Secretary General of TURKSOY, an organisation that is the equivalent of UNESCO for the Turkic world. There are 14 TURKSOY member countries including Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. As Secretary General he has worked to further develop international understanding of the Turkic region, and especially of its culture and arts. At his direction the Youth Chamber Orchestra of TURKSOY, Youth Chamber Choir of TURKSOY, and Orchestra of Folk Instruments of TURKSOY were established. These have performed around the world, helping to promote Turkic music, musicians and composers, as well as providing valuable opportunities for the young performers.

In recognition of Professor Kaseinov’s contribution to the rapprochement of cultures and the development of international diplomatic relations, he has received many awards and medals from various countries and international organisations. These include the Friendship Medal of the Russian Federation, the State Medal of Distinguished Service of Poland, the Honour Medal of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Friendship Medal of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Magtumguly Pyragy Medal of the Republic of Turkmenistan and many others.

Kathryn Deane ran large-scale community music projects across England in the 1980s and 90s before becoming director of Sound Sense, the UK association for community musicians, in 1995 where she represented over 1000 community musicians UK-wide, and which she ran until her retirement in late 2016.

She was editor of Sounding Board, the UK journal of community music, for some 84 issues and over a million words. Textbooks include co-editor of Music and the Power of Partnerships (National Association of Music Educators); contributions to Reaching Out: Music education with hard to reach children and young people (Music Mark); Musical Pathways (NAME); Community Music Today (Rowman and Littlefield);.and the Oxford Handbook of Community Music (OUP); and she is an editorial board member of the International Journal of Community Music.

She is a visiting lecturer at conservatoires and universities; and has spoken at many conferences in the UK and Europe on community music. In 2016, she co-hosted the ISME Community Music Commission seminar in Edinburgh, preceding the world conference in Glasgow. She was an adviser to The Sage Gateshead/Sunderland University degree course in community music; and she has been a contributor to an AHRC research network.

In 2014, she was appointed lifetime Vice President of Voluntary Arts, which promotes active participation in cultural activities across the UK and Republic of Ireland. In 2016, she was appointed honorary Visiting Professor at York St John University. And in 2017 she won the Editor’s Award in the Music Teacher Awards for Excellence.

She has particular interests in diversity and inclusivity where contributions have included the National Singing Programme for primary age children, Sing Up. Research and evaluation work included The power of equality (on inclusive music practice, for Youth Music); Move on up (music mentoring); The heroes inside (community choirs); and A choir in every care home (Baring Foundation) which has been shortlisted for a Royal Society of Public Health award.

  
The power of equality 2 final evaluation of Youth Musics Musical Inclusion programme 2012- 2015.pdf

https://independent.academia.edu/KathrynDeane

https://independent.academia.edu/KathrynDeane

https://achoirineverycarehome.wordpress.com/

Music Manifesto Report-2

BTM Report.pdf

Sing up beyond the mainstream towards a learning programme

Dr. Ahmad Naser Sarmast is a recipient of the Honorary Membership Award of the Royal Philharmonic Society of the UK, the Founder and Director of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), and the all-women orchestra of Afghanistan, Zohra.

A visionary cultural leader and figure, Dr Sarmast is an advocate for music education and a strong believer in the power of music as a force in bringing about social changes, transforming lives, and connecting nations and civilisations. In 2009 this belief led him to establish the Afghanistan Institute of Music (ANIM) a music school and within a short period of time it has become one of the most influential educational and cultural entities of the country, as well as widely known internationally for its unique mission and vision.

Dr Sarmast has been the survivor of a targeted suicide bombing for the work he has done in Afghanistan in reviving and protecting the musical traditions of this country, ensuring the musical rights of Afghan children, promoting gender equality and co-education in music, and promoting musical diversity in this war-torn nation.

A distinguished alumni award of Monash University, and an Honorary Fellow of the National College of Music, London, Dr. Sarmast received his PhD in Music from Monash University, Australia in 2005; his MA in musicology/ethnomusicology from the Moscow State Conservatorium in 1993; and his Bachelor Degree in performance and music education from the same school. His research areas also include the music of North India, Central Asia and Iran. His other publications include the landmark book A Survey of the History of Music in Afghanistan, The naghma-ye chartuk of Afghanistan: a new perspective on the origin of a solo instrumental genre, and Ustad Mohammad Salim Sarmast: a 20th century composer, and the first symphonic score of Afghanistan.

Please join us in welcoming Dr Sarmast as a keynote speaker at the 33rd ISME World Conference. In the meantime, if you would like more insight into ANIM and their work please take 30 minutes to watch this extraordinary video. Please be aware that this video features images that some may find disturbing.

Elnara Kerimova is an Azerbaijani and Turkish conductor and choral master, who has played a key role in the development and improvement of choral music in that area, as well as the popularisation of the genre. She is currently marking 35 years in the field.

Kerimova is currently a conductor with the Orfeon Chamber Choir, based in Turkey. Under her direction, the choir has represented Turkey in many international competition, winning first prizes in England and Canada, and four silver medals at the Austrian Choir Games. They have performed in Azerbaijan, Belgium, Pakistan, Israel, Japan and China. They have also recorded two albums with DMC, the second of which was a commemoration of their 10th anniversary in 2005.

Kerimova began her music studies early. By the age of six she was enrolled in a music school in Baku and at 14 moved to the Asaf Zeynalli Music College, one of the leading secondary music schools in Azerbaijan. She then studied at the Uzeyir Hacibeyov State Conservatoire, where her tutors included Alina Listengarten, Marina Riskal, Jovdat Hajiyev (a student of Shostakovich), Leonid Vaynstein, Faradzh Karayev, Arif Melikov, Akshin Alizadeh, Cahangir Cahangirov, Franghiz Ali-Zade and Naile Mehtiyeva. She graduated with qualifications in composition and choral conducting.

Joining the Azerbaijan State Polyphonic Choir, she was elected as principal conductor by her choir mates, at the age of 26. Under her direction, the choir performed numerous concerts in Belarus, Siberia, Estonia, Lithuania and the Ukraine, as well as Moscow.

Kerimova has also performed with world-renowned orchestras including the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1991, Kerimova and conductor Hikmet Şimşek performed the Yunus Emre Oratorio of Ahmet Adnan Saygun, the Turkish composer and musicologist, in several Asian countries. 

She made her Turkish debut at the International Ankara Music Festival, and in 1992 Kerimova was invited by the Republic of Turkey to move to Ankara to work with the TRT Ankara Radio Polyphonic Choir. TRT is the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation.

With this choir, she performed more than 300 concerts across Turkey, including at the Aspendos Festival, the music festivals of Ankara, and with the CSO (the Presidential Symphony Orchestra). Kerimova still conducts this choir and their recordings are broadcast on the radio and television channels of the TRT.

Her achievements as a choir conductor are extensive, including founding the BUTA Chamber Choir in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan. The choir has been specifically created to represent Azeri music across different genres and times, in national and international festivals and concerts. With the Turksoy Youth Chamber Choir (founded by another keynote speaker, Professor Dusen Kaseinov) they won a gold medal at the European Choir Games in 2015.

Whilst working as a choir conductor, Kerimova has also held many roles in various educational institutions, including the State Conservatory of Hacettepe University and Bilkent University, and amateur choirs. She has taken the responsibility to develop and improve choral music while also spreading awareness of it throughout the country.

In 2016, Kerimova was awarded the Turkish Culture Service Award by the Kazakhstan Ministry of Culture and Sports. She is also an Azerbaijan State Artist, a title awarded by the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan.