Music in Xinjiang: Dolan Muqam music tradition thrives among local Uygurs

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02:54

In northwest China, the centuries-old Muqam music is thriving among the local Uyghur communities. The music and dance tradition was included in the UNESCO heritage list in 2005, and has since enjoyed government support and reasserted itself across the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Today, let's get an earful of Dolan Muqam, a distinctive school especially popular in western Xinjiang.

Nur Memet has been teaching Muqam music for ten years. She has shared the tradition with hundreds of students at the Makit County Senior Middle School.

Memet started playing music in her early teens, learning from old folk musicians. After high school, she received formal training at the Xinjiang Music Conservatory. Upon graduation, she was offered a job at a dance company in Urumqi, the region's capital city. But Memet chose to return to her remote hometown in Kashgar, where she could teach Muqam.

NUR MEMET TEACHER OF MUQAM MUSIC "I returned so that I could follow my dream, which is to introduce Dolan Muqam music to more people."

Memet is convinced the future of Muqam music resides in the interest of young people. Besides the students at her school, she has also found an apt pupil in her own daughter. From being immersed in the music since she was a toddler, the young girl has fallen in love with the tradition, especially its singing and dancing components.

In Makit county, regarded as the birthplace of Dolan Muqam, live the Hasan brothers. The 76-year-old twins are the fourth generation of a local Muqam family. They learned singing and how to play instruments from their father and grandfather, and can perform all the nine surviving suites in the Dolan school.

The brothers have tried to introduce the Uyghur music to a wider audience over the past decade.

HASAN MUQAM MUSICIAN "We have been training in Muqam music since the age of ten. It has been 66 years, but we are still learning the music. We have performed Muqam music in seven foreign countries. Although we couldn't speak their languages, we were always applauded after our performances."

At the local primary and secondary schools, Muqam is now part of the curriculum. And the Muqam music played during break time has been welcomed by the students. The chances of continuing the tradition are looking strong.