The regional round of the creative competition “Çalsana, Bagşy!” was held at a high level on the festively decorated stage of the Seyitnazar Seydi Lebap State Music and Drama Theatre.
As is well known, the “Çalsana, Bagşy!” competition is held annually as part of the “Türkmeniň Altyn asyry” competition for the President of Turkmenistan’s Prize among dutar players and bagshy musicians aged 18 to 35. The creative contest is jointly organized by the country's Ministry of Culture and the State Committee for Television, Radio Broadcasting and Cinematography.
The main purpose of the competition is to promote the art of dutar performance and the vocal mastery of bagshy singers, as well as to identify young talents and support their professional development. It should be noted that the participants in this stage of the competition were the winners of the preliminary selection rounds previously held in the etraps and cities of the Lebap velayat. The event was given additional significance by the fact that it precedes the traditional Culture Week held annually in the country in honor of the Day of Culture and Arts Workers and the poetry of Magtymguly Fragi.
According to the competition rules, the instrumentalists performed first. Their impeccable renditions of works by outstanding masters of the past and contemporary composer-melodists demonstrated the musicians’ deep immersion in the rich spiritual world of the Turkmen people. The creative relay was then taken up by young bagshy singers, who skillfully performed folk and original songs. Their high vocal mastery, rooted in the traditions of the “Ersary Yoly” style, which is widespread in the Lebap velayat, served as vivid evidence of the continuity of generations.
By decision of the distinguished jury, the winners in the dutar performance category were Bagul Batyrova, a student of the Danatar Ovezov Turkmen State Specialized Music School under the Maya Kuliyeva Turkmen National Conservatory, and Jeyhun Charyyev, a teacher at the Children’s School of Arts in the settlement of Kerkichi, Dovletli etrap. In the bagshy vocal performance category, the winners were Merjen Amandurdyyeva, another student of the Danatar Ovezov Turkmen State Specialized Music School, and Esen Atamyradov, a student of the Lebap Velayat Specialized School of Arts. The winners earned the right to represent the region at the national stage of the competition.
The creative celebration concluded with all participants jointly performing the song “Watan bagtyň mekany,” which became an expression of sincere gratitude to Hero-Arkadag and Arkadagly Hero Serdar for creating favorable conditions for the development of national art.
