MAKHACHKALA, May 5 – RIA "Dagestan." Makhachkala hosted the Republican Festival of Folk Music and Performers on Traditional Instruments "Melodies of the Mountains." Ensembles and performers came from Makhachkala, Derbent, Khasavyurt and the districts of Akusha, Sergokala and Buynaksk.
The State Orchestra of Folk Instruments of Dagestan, led by Novruz Shakhbazov (Honored Art Worker and People's Artist of the republic), opened the concert with a medley of Dagestani folk melodies.
The lineup also featured Derbent's Municipal Folk Instruments Orchestra; Sergokala District's Folk Ensemble of Folk Instruments and its Kumuz Players' Ensemble; the "Merry Kumuz Players" from the Children's Creative Center; Akusha District's "Paghmu" Ensemble; a Buynaksk District collective; Khasavyurt's "Echo of the Mountains" Folklore and Choreographic Ensemble (a recognized honored collective of Russian folk arts); as well as students from Makhachkala's Gasanov Music College and the Muradova Dagestan College of Culture and Arts.
The festival was organized by Dagestan Ministry of Culture and the Republican House of Folk Arts, in partnership with the two colleges and the State Orchestra of Folk Instruments.