Trio to perform music of Kyrgyzstan at Skidmore April 5

Sakhna, a trio of musicians from the central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, will perform "Music from the Celestial Mountains" on Thursday, April 5, at Skidmore College. Sakhna, which means "stage" in Kyrgyz, has performed with the Sakhna Theatre Company since its founding in 2002 in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital. The company is known for its efforts to revive Kyrgyz epic poems, which have been passed down orally through the centuries. 

The ensemble will be joined by Virlana Tkacz, artistic director of Yara Arts Group, who will offer translations of the trio's songs and explain their traditional instruments. The concert will begin at 8 p.m. in Filene Recital Hall of the Filene Music Building. Tickets are $5 for general admission, $2 for students and seniors.

According to Tkacz, Yara Arts Group has created a theater piece based on one of the 40 small Kyrgyz epics, or dastans, which tell of events in Kyrgyz history or relate personal stories. Yara's production, Janyl Myrza, is being presented collaboratively with Sakhna through March 25 at La MaMa Experimental Theatre in New York. The work is based on an epic that tells the story of a woman warrior from the 17th century.

Tkacz, who has made four visits to Kyrgyzstan, also will give a slide presentation about Yara's show, and about the country's epics, including the monumental Manas. Known as one of the longest epics in the world, Manas is about 20 times longer than Homer's Odyssey. The epic tells the patriotic tale of a ninth century battle, although it was not written down until 1885.

The three Sakhna musicians who will perform "Music from the Celestial Mountains" at Skidmore are Asylbek Nasirdinov, Omurzak Kaypov and Kenjegul Satibaldieva.

Nasirdinov is a prominent folk artist in Kyrgyzstan, where he graduated from the National Conservatory. He performs on such folk instruments as the komus, a three-stringed, fretless strumming instrument, and is also a composer and master instrument builder. He performed in Carnegie Hall as part of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project.

Kaypov is a well-known dastanchi, or bard, in Kyrgyzstan, and his works have been recorded for the Golden Fund, the Kyrgyz National Archive. He is a graduate of the folk music department at Bishkek Institute of Art and appears as the bard in several of Sakhna Theatre's productions of Kyrgyz epics, as well as the latest production.

Satibaldieva sings dastans and koshoks, traditional laments. She is a graduate of the St. Petersburg Institute of Theatre, Music and Film, and was a founding member of Sakhna Theatre, where she appears in several epics.

Sakhna and Yara Arts Group will present several other programs April 3-6 during their three-day festival in Saratoga Springs. The visit is sponsored by Spring Street Gallery. The performance at Skidmore is co-sponsored by the Skidmore College and the Skidmore Music Department through visiting assistant professor Lea Bryant, an ethnomusicologist.

For information on other Sakhna Festival events at Spring Street Gallery, call 518-587-6433.