Renowned Kazakh conductor Shamgon Kazhgaliyev dies aged 87

Born on June 15, 1927 in Uyalykum village in western Kazakhstan, the young Shamgon lost both his parents at an early age and grew up at a local orphanage. Shamgon excelled in music from a young age. He won his first serious dombra competition at the age of 10. He graduated from the Kurmangazy Kazakh Academy of Music in 1950 and the Grikurov Leningrad Conservatory in 1964. Since 1953, Shamgon Kazhgaliyev was the chief conductor of the Kazakh State Orchestra named after Kurmangazy.