The Roza Otunbayeva Public Foundation organized the “Music, Soul of a Nation: Kazakhstan” concert held on February 23rd at the Kyrgyz National Conservatory in front of a packed house.   Before the concert a video on the Kazakh diaspora in Kyrgyzstan and the shared origin of the Kyrgyz and Kazakh peoples was shown.   The Kazakh dance group “Makhabat” gave a dynamic performance of the vintage “Kara Jurga” dance and the beautiful “Dudarai” which depicted the courtship between a Russian girl and Kazakh boy. Audiences were pleasantly surprised by young vocalist Altynai Jusupova and wowed by opera singer Ercan Musin who headlined the show.   Audience members witnessed the pre-wedding tradition of the first meeting between a Kazakh bride and her parents-in-law. They also heard the sounds of Kazakh folk instruments like the dombras (similar to the Kyrgyz komuz) and the ancient, seven-stringed jetigen kobyz, an instrument so similar to the Kyrgyz kylkyyak that audience members could not distinguish between the two.   The most spectacular part of the evening, though, was the battle between the Kyrgyz and Kazakh akyns. In this aitys (aitysh in Kyrgyz) Karla Kozhogozina of Kazakhstan and Azamat Bolgonbaev of Kyrgyzstan avidly competed with their voices and their dombras/komuz, rousing the audience to great cheers.   Both akyns eventually veered into an appreciation of Kyrgyz-Kazakh fraternity and wishes for peace and harmony in the world. Mr. Azamat confessed his love for the Kazakh people directly to the audience and US Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Pamela Spratlen.   The concert wrapped up with a performance from revered Kyrgyz musician Sultan Karimov who was greeted by raucous applause.   “Most of the performers were amateurs, and to perform at such a high level was quite courageous of them. Kazakh culture is so similar to Kyrgyz culture that it was difficult to spot the differences between the two, however the event was warmly entertaining to the Kyrgyz audience,” said co-host Svetlana Lundgren.   Anastasia Khodykina Vecherrniy Bishkek