On January 15, the first round of the 5th regional singing competition “Ilham Chishmase (The Spring of Inspiration)” was held in the building of the World Congress of the Tatars.

The jury members included: Kadriya Idrisova, Head of the “Ak Kalpak” Tatar women’s public organization under the World Congress of the Tatars and candidate of philological sciences: Zukhra Sakhabieva, singer and People’s Artist of Tatarstan; Zukhra  Sharifulina, singer and People’s Artist of Tatarstan: Rustem Nasyibullin, solo vocalist of the Kazan City Philharmonic, laureate of international competitions; Almaz Nurgaliyev, director and laureate of international competitions; Azat Karimov, singer and laureate of international competitions, and others.

Kadriya Idrisova welcomed the jury members and attendees, noting:

“The number of participating regions is growing every year. This year, the competition includes participants from 15 regions and one foreign country. A child from Egypt is also taking part. In addition, there are contestants from Novosibirsk, Moscow, Perm, Orenburg regions, as well as from the Republics of Bashkortostan and Udmurtia.”

The competition is organized by the World Congress of the Tatars, “Megi” LLC, the Executive Committee of the Sarmanovsky Municipal district, the regional “Ak Kalfak” Tatar women’s public organization, and the “Zhyen” foundation. The main sponsors of the competition are the Gamirov family, natives of the Sarman region. The competition has been held for five years, with its first two years hosted by the Gamirov family in Sarman.

The main objectives of the competition are to promote the legacy of Ilham Shakirov, a legendary Tatar singer renowned for his contributions to traditional Tatar music, to immortalize his name, and to inspire the younger generation by fostering an appreciation of his art and engaging them in folk traditions.

The competition is held in two categories:

• 1 Category 1 (Ilham Shakirov’s Songs):
  Participants are required to perform two songs from Ilham Shakirov’s repertoire in the Tatar language.
• 2 Category 2 (Songs of Alfiya Avzalova and Zifa Basiyrova):
  Participants perform two songs from the repertoires of Alfiya Avzalova and Zifa Basiyrova in the Tatar language.

The final results of the 5th regional singing competition “Ilham Chishmase” will be announced on February 21.