Charity concert featuring performances by special needs children took place at Astana Opera
Charity is one of Astana Opera’s most important work focuses, the opera house management notes.
«In the Year of Children, proclaimed in Kazakhstan, we would like to pay special attention to the younger generation. Therefore, the opera house gladly responded to the initiative to hold a charity concert within our walls featuring young talents. The healing power of music allows them to cope with their diagnoses, reveals new facets of personality, and helps them plunge into the world of creativity. We are sincerely happy that the concert gathered a full hall of viewers who supported the undertakings of young artists. We hope that they have a great creative life ahead of them, filled with new achievements,» Aizhan Kurmangalieva, Astana Opera’s deputy director, says.
One of the concert’s participants was the 3rd grade student Daryn Azhmoldayev, who is professionally engaged in vocals and has a wonderful clear voice. He performed the Neapolitan song Santa Lucia, Nurmukhammed Zhakyp’s beloved by all work Ake-Ana, as well as others.
At the age of 4.5, the boy was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He did not speak until the age of 6, but constantly listened to music. Thanks to the effective methods of behavioral correction he engaged in, the child achieved tremendous success in development: first he began to sing, and then he began to speak. Now Daryn continues his studies at the vocal school, he is a laureate of republican and international competitions, and sings as part of the children’s inclusive choir Balausa of the courtyard club Urker, whose members also performed at the Baiseitova Chamber Hall.
Khalid Kharsiyev, who performed the Ingush folk song Lorsa Lida, Yernur Turmakhanbetov with A. Bakhanov’s work Asyl Ana, Yasmin Bekteubayeva, Daniyal Juassov, Nurym Narymbayev and other novice artists also demonstrated their talents.
To support the children in their creative work, Astana Opera’s soloists Nazym Sagintai and Yerzhan Saipov also took the Baiseitova Chamber Hall stage. They performed Serik Yerkimbekov’s song Darkhan Dala to the lyrics by S. Maulenov as a duet, and also presented Kazakh folk song Gulderaiym, Leoncavallo’s Mattinata, Count Almaviva’s aria from Mozart’s opera Le Nozze di Figaro.
A photo exhibition «One Day in the Life of a Family Raising a Child with Autism» and an exposition of drawings and crafts created by children with Autism Spectrum Disorder were prepared in the opera house foyer especially for the guests of the musical evening.
«Over the past 7 years, the number of identified cases of Autism in Kazakhstani children has increased by 5 times. According to the last year’s data of the Republican Scientific and Practical Centre for Mental Health, over 4.8 thousand patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder are under dynamic observation,» Shynar Azhmoldayeva, founder of the Abaqus-Daryn Educational Foundation, says. «The main goal of our event was to show that children with Autism can sing, dance, draw, sculpt and play musical instruments perfectly. Most importantly, creative activities help children integrate into society.»
