American musicians and students of the Turkmen National Conservatoire present Christmas gift to Ashgabat citizens

Three classically-trained American musicians and music teachers, Derek Beckvold, Peter Thoreson, and Avery Waite and famous violinist Kim Mai Nguyen performed a holiday concert at Magtymguly Turkmen Musical and Drama Theatre. 

Together with the American teachers and musicians, the students and teachers of the National Conservatory of Turkmenistan took part in the concert. The festive music programme included the performances of a choir, ensembles of violoncellists, viola players, brass and jazz, as well as symphony and chamber orchestras. 

The vocal group of the National Conservatory of Turkmenistan under the guidance of Peter Thoresen performed Christmas songs. The audience awarded Derek Beckvold, who performed the Turkmen folk melody in the arrangement of Nura Halmamedov "Pomegranate tree'' on saxophone, with the storm of applause. 

Piano player of the National Conservatory of Turkmenistan Bahar Annadurdyeva presented a solo variation of George Gershwin "Summer Time". 

Dixieland performed two ragtimes by Scott Joplin. One of them is the popular, well-known to our public work "Variety Artist". 

The audience enjoyed the works of Turkmen composers - Rejep Rejepov "Turkmen dance", a fragment from the opera "Leili and Mejnun" by Danatar Ovezov. The potpourri pleased not only the Turkmen audience, but the American musicians as well. The concertmaster of the evening was laureate of international competitions Stella Faramazova. 

The concert of friendship organized by the Ministry of Culture and the US Embassy became a gift not only for the audience, but also for the performers of the two countries, whose creative dialogue is successfully developing. In the memory of the joint work, American teachers presented musical instruments to the National Conservatory of Turkmenistan.