Concert presents ethnic music

Two Azerbaijani instrumental ensembles will give a free concert at 8 p.m. Saturday in Ballantine Hall Auditorium 013. The musical program will be divided between folk songs and classically composed pieces from the Eurasian region, including arias by the first Azerbaijani musician to compose operas, Uzeyir Hajibeyov. It will also feature selections from two CDs released by the "Mamedov Family Ensemble," one of the groups that will be performing. Supertitles will be provided during the Middle Eastern songs so that audience members will be able to read English translations of the lyrics. \n"Music is the catalyst of bringing cultures together," said Professor Shahyar Daneshgar, a native of Azerbaijan and a research associate in the Department of Eurasian Studies. "Right now, American and British troops are in the areas whose music we are going to present." \nDaneshgar said he hoped learning about Middle Eastern culture would help students appreciate the region.\nThe "Mamedov Family Ensemble" is a family of five that has performed traditional Azerbaijani music throughout the United States. The performers are Novruz Mamedov, his wife, Madam Bahar Aliyeva, and their three sons, Azer, Rashad and Afgan. Together, they play a variety of Middle Eastern instruments such as the saz, a long-necked lute, the zarb, a wooden drum in the shape of a goblet, and the garmon, which resembles an accordion. Novruz and Bahar were raised in Azerbaijan and hold music degrees from the State Conservatory there. The family now resides in New York. \nThe other group that will be performing is the "Silk Road Ensemble," which grew out of Daneshgar's efforts to create a group in the Bloomington area devoted to performing Azerbaijani music. It is now a trio comprised of Daneshgar, who sings and plays percussion, and two IU School of Music graduates -- Megan Weeder, who plays violin and kamanche, a violin-like Azerbaijani instrument, and Hakan Toker, who plays piano and kanun, a type of zither. \nToker spent his childhood in Turkey studying piano and traditional music and then relocated to the United States, where he enrolled at IU. Weeder became interested in Eurasian music after she began playing with a Middle Eastern ensemble at IU. \n"It was a sound that appealed to me," Weeder said. "I learned about the culture through the music." \nShe traveled to England to earn a graduate degree in ethnomusicology, then returned to Bloomington as a professional violinist and became involved with the "Silk Road Ensemble." \nThe main purpose of the group is "to educate people about the Middle Eastern culture," and to try to separate the current political conflicts from the cultural aspects of the region, Weeder said.\nBoth groups have performed at Bloomington's annual Lotus World Music Festival, which began with a collaboration between Daneshgar and Lee Williams, a music promoter who created the festival in 1994. Williams said working to bring groups like \nthe "Mamedov Family Ensemble" to Bloomington has given him a better understanding of other cultures. \n"I have lived their music for so long … I'm just thankful (when) they're here," he said.\nSaturday's concert is part of IU's 10th annual Eurasian Studies Conference, which brings IU students and professors together with scholars from countries such as Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Israel. \n"Students wanted to have a forum where they could present their own papers," Daneshgar said.\nIn addition to giving students the opportunity to present their own work, the Eurasian Studies Conference allows them to establish contacts in their areas of interest with researchers from around the globe, he said.\n"This is very meaningful for them," he said.\nFor more information about Saturday's concert or the Mamedov Family and Silk Road ensembles, contact Daneshgar at sdaneshg@indiana.edu.