The competition, organized by the Almaty Regional Department of Culture, Archives and Documentation, was held at the Biken Rimova Drama Theatre with the support of the Akimat of the Almaty Region. For two days, participants from different cities of Kazakhstan, as well as from the USA, Mongolia, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Belarus fought for the title of winners of the contest for conductors “Altyn Tayaksha” and the vocal competition “Kesteli Oramal”. For the performance at the highest level, by the decision of the jury of the competition, Ruslan Baimurzin was recognized as the best among conductors.

The competition program consisted of two rounds, in each of which the participants performed three works: a composition by the great Kazakh classical composer Mukan Tulebayev, as well as works by foreign and Kazakh authors. Furthermore, the same number of conductors and vocalists pass to the second round. The signature moment of the competition is that each of the vocalists to pass to the second round performs to the accompaniment of the participants-conductors. Ruslan Baimurzin presented on the Taldykorgan theatre stage Mereke Bi from the opera Birzhan – Sara, The Poem and romance by Mukan Tulebayev, Ali Alpysbayev’s Alash Yeli, Serke’s cavatina from Sydyk Mukhamedzhanov’s opera Aisulu, and Figaro’s cavatina from Gioachino Rossini’s opera Il Barbiere di Siviglia and the Overture from Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen.

“Participating in competitions is always exciting. In this case, it was necessary to quickly get together and rise to the task, as we were given only 15-20 minutes to work with the orchestra. The main goal for me was to show what I can do, how I work with musicians and what I can give them. I would like to note that there were very strong contestants. Both rounds of this competition were very intense, useful and rigorous. For any musician, a competition is first and foremost experience and growth. Of course, it also means meeting new people, new teams and creative exchange. For many participants from other countries, this competition marked an acquaintance with Kazakh classical music and, in particular, with the creative work of the outstanding national composer Mukan Tulebayev,” Ruslan Baimurzin said.

The Astana Opera Conductor Ruslan Baimurzin from 2005 to 2007 studied at the Kurmangazy Kazakh National Conservatory specializing in opera and symphony conducting, and in 2009 he has graduated from the Kazakh National Academy of Music, and then graduate school of the Glinka Novosibirsk State Conservatory. He was the Conductor of the symphony orchestra of Baiseitova National Opera and Ballet Theatre, Principal Conductor of the symphony orchestra of the State Philharmonic of Astana.

The geography of Ruslan Baimurzin’s performances covers the cities of Kazakhstan and the countries of near and far abroad. The conductor’s repertoire includes symphonic and chamber concert programs, operas Birzhan – Sara by Mukan Tulebayev, Abai by Akhmet Zhubanov and Latyf Khamidi, Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata, Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Gioachino Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Georges Bizet’s Carmen, etc. His creative work is marked by awards, including the 2nd Prize of the Second Nurgissa Tlendiyev Conducting Competition (Almaty, 2012), the Grand Prix and Cup of Astana Akim at the Third Nurgissa Tlendiyev Festival “Oz Yelim” in the category “Conducting” (Astana, 2013).