On the 7th May 2024, The British-Uzbek Society (BUS) in collaboration with and support of the Embassy of Uzbekistan and the Orzu Arts company are holding Spring Celebration event, which will present the richness and versatility of the traditional Uzbek culture through poetry, music, songs and dance.
Here are the brief introductions of our performers who will present the best of the Uzbek culture to the BUS members and invited guests at this reception.
Band Sherkhon
The music band Sherkhon was created in 2017 in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) because of the collaboration between the two amazing talented young people, Sherzod Nuraliyev and Dildora Olimova. Sherzod is a musician, composer, songwriter, and a singer whereas Dildora is an actress and singer. Both musicians are graduates of the Tashkent State Institute of Arts in Uzbekistan. Sherzod has composed over 300 songs in all Central Asian languages and produced about 100 music videos which were aired across the whole Central Asia under his management.
ORZU ARTS
As the only Central Asian theatre company in Europe, ORZU ARTS explores the richness of the performing arts of Central Asia, facilitating cultural exchanges between Central Asia and the West. In its work, ORZU (dream) Arts combines ritual, dance, poetry, music, and traditional songs with contemporary writing, creating work that introduces Central Asian & Western traditions to the multicultural audiences across the world.
Through numerous arts, cross-cultural and networking events, ORZU Arts engages with clients, members and visitors of every race, religion, age, and gender, creating opportunities for the new cultural experiences and forming new positive social interactions.
Lola Ganzarolli-Tursunova
Lola Ganzarolli-Tursunova is a soprano, singer, songwriter, performing and recording artist.
Born in Moscow, Lola Ganzarolli Toursunova grew up in Cambodia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka. At the age of 15 she won a full music scholarship to study in London.
Lola takes great pride in her Uzbek roots and Central Asian heritage. Her grandfather, the esteemed writer Parda Tursun, gained widespread recognition for his autobiographical novel ‘Teacher,’ published in 1937 and translated into numerous languages. Lola’s father, Davlyat Toursounov, born in Tashkent, served as a cultural attaché. He was among the first diplomats dispatched from Uzbekistan to Egypt during the construction of The Aswan Dam, a monumental project spanning from 1960 to 1970 on the Nile in Aswan.
Finalist of the London’s Classic Women Awards 2023 & 2021, Lola has performed all over UK and in many parts of the world, including Italy, Russia, Austria, South Africa, France, USA.
Her debut album, ‘Undreamt Dreams,’ showcases her versatility, featuring original compositions & lyrics recorded in DeLirica studio on Italy’s Adriatic coast, and mastered at the prestigious Abbey Road Studios in London.
Sohret Nur is currently affiliated as Research Assistant with the Music Department of the SOAS University of London. His research interests are focused on the Uyghur Twelve Muqams and Iraq Muqam, the muqam’s full transcription and analysis. Since his early childhood, Sohret fell in love with his favourite musical instruments, dutar and rawap, and reached an incredible mastery in his performing skills. Sohret is not only a virtuoso performer on dutar and rawap, but also a talented composer.
His most well-known compositions include Sen Kelmiding, Kashgar Rain, Qizil Chöl, Achil, Rawap No1. He is also teaching dutar and rawap to his students at SOAS.
If you are interested in the BUS membership, please follow this link for details: Membership | British Uzbek Society