On December 3, 2016, a gala concert dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the independence of Turkic states was held at the Muslum Magomayev Azerbaijan State Philharmonic with the participation of Khazar University’s Chamber Orchestra. The concert was jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Azerbaijan Republic, Turksoy, Khazar University, and Azerbaijani Authors’ Society. Participants in the event included composers and music scholars from Azerbaijan, Russia (Tatarstan and Bashkortostan), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan; Members of Parliament of Azerbaijan; administrators of higher education institutions; members of government executive bodies; the public and media representatives.

At the beginning of the concert, Professor Hamlet Isaxanli, the founder of Khazar University and Chairman of its Board of Directors and Trustees, and Professor Lala Huseynova, Vice Rector of Azerbaijan National Conservatory, made speeches about the significance of this event as an exhibition of Turkic cultural music traditions.

The concert included performances of pieces by composers such as Uzeyir Hajibeyli, Gara Garayev, Arif Melikov, Khayyam Mirzazadeh, Farhad Badalbayli, Samir Aliyev, Kerem Ekber (Azerbaijan), Rashid Kalimullin (Tatarstan), Muradbey Begaliyev (Kyrgyzstan), Turgay Erdener (Turkey), Balnur Kidirbek, Yerulan Kanapyanov, Habibulla Setekov (Kazakhstan), Rovshan Nepesov (Turkmenistan), and Leyla Ismagilova (Bashkortostan).

The concert also included a performance by Azerbaijan’s Meritorious Artist Farida Mammadova of two pieces composed by Sardar Farajov based on poetry by Hamlet Isaxanli. Piano pieces composed by Balnur Kidirbek and Habibulla Setekov were also performed by Zulfiyya Sadigova. The foreign composers whose works were performed in the conference were present in the audience.

This international-scale musical event was led by Associate Professor Zulfiyya Sadigova, Head of the Department of Music and Fine Arts. The conductor of the orchestra for this concert was Javad Taghizadeh.