The sounds of musical rhythms and applauses at the concerts of IV International Festival of Oriental Music and Culture “RUMI FEST”, which were held in Riga from 29 September till 1 October, 2017, have faded away.
This year the Festival program featured performances of virtuosos from Iran – the group “TANEEN-O-TAN ENSEMBLE”, singer, composer and Turkish folk music researcher Latif Bolat from Turkey, and Latvian singer, composer, writer and poet Igo, who won popularity as in Latvia, as far beyond its borders. Igo was accompanied by well-known Latvian musicians: Aivars Hermanis (acoustic guitar), Raimonds Macats (cello, keyboard), Juris Krisons (keyboard), Ainis Zavackis (percussion) and Marta Kalnina (percussion). On top of that, during the festival events its visitors could see Sema ceremony, an ancient ritual of whirling dervishes.
A special guest of RUMI FEST was the group Ahoora Band from Iran. Their performance, which took place on 30 September, was dedicated to the great Persian poet and mystic Rumi, who was born exactly on that day. The group’s arrival became a real surprise and gift for those, who were in Konya in 2016 and visited their concerts.
Festival organization requires specific creative approach, labour, efforts and self-denial. And we express our special gratitude to all organization agents, sponsors, participants and guests of the Festival, and certainly, to its main inspiration, to our Master.
We are waiting for you next year! We shall do our best to surprise you with an amazing program, to invite talented and distinctive musicians from East and West, introduce to you some new edges of the oceanic world of culture and creativity.