Sounding the Steppe: Kazakh Songs & Strings

Sounding the Steppe: Kazakh Songs & Strings presents the musical traditions of the Kazakh people through a program grounded in nomadic history, oral poetry, and lived cultural practice. The concert centers on instrumental kui and sung poetry as complementary modes of musical expression.

Solo and ensemble kui for dombra (plucked lute) and kobyz (bowed lute), instruments fundamental to Kazakh musical life, form the core of the program. In Kazakh culture, kui are instrumental pieces that do not “tell a story” in a literal sense, but unfold as sonic narratives shaped by gesture, rhythm, and timbre, inviting listeners to engage with history, emotion, and inner states through sound itself. The selected kui are associated with epic figures, moral reflection, and emotional movement.

The program also includes songs based on the poetry of Abay Qunanbayuly (1845–1904), the foundational poet, thinker, and cultural reformer of the Kazakh people. Abay’s writings occupy a central place in Kazakh literary and musical life, bringing together lyric intimacy, philosophical reflection, and ethical inquiry. His poetry has inspired generations of musical settings and remains a vital source for Kazakh vocal tradition.

This concert marks the third and final installment of the Central Asian Trilogy within the series.

Tokzhan Karatai is a Kazakh composer and kobyz performer. She was featured in the Aga Khan Music Programme’s multimedia production Qyrq Qyz (Forty Girls) (2018–2019), an internationally presented project combining music, movement, and visual storytelling rooted in Central Asian heritage. She is currently a PhD candidate in composition at Duke University.

Geoff Gersh is an American dombra player engaged with Kazakh instrumental traditions, with a particular focus on kui repertories. He studies with renowned Kazakh dombra player Aigerim Myrzakhmet. In 2025, he toured Kazakhstan, presenting solo concerts and performing with local musicians, further deepening his engagement with Kazakh performance practices.

Gulzar Gabman is a New York-based Kazakh singer whose artistry encompasses Kazakh vocal heritage as well as jazz, ballads, and cinematic repertoire. She has won multiple international competitions and song contests in Kazakhstan, Russia, and the United States, and has performed at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall.