Traditional tunes take center stage at SCO arts festival

Other performances showcased the vigorous and fast-tempo komuz music from Kyrgyzstan, a medley of Uzbekistan folk songs, and a piece adapted from the classical Russian folk song Moonlight composed by the renowned musician, Vasily Andreyev.

Dmitry Dmitrienko, the artistic director and conductor of the Russian ensemble, was responsible for conducting Kalinka at the concert, "Performed by artists from four countries, the piece symbolizes the cooperation between them."

The idea for the SCO Member States Arts Festival originated during multilateral cultural exchanges at the 2004 summit in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Member states passed the resolution to hold the annual arts festival the following year at the SCO summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.