Life in the Regions: 73-Year-Old Bukarbai Tyumenbaev Revives the "Uchkyn" Ensemble for Its 50th Anniversary

Марина Онегина • 07.01.2026, 17:16 • Social Portal

73-year-old Bukarbai Tyumenbaev revived the ensemble "Uchkyn".

He was born in the village of Kara-Talaa in the Ton district.

In a conversation with a Turmush correspondent, he mentioned that he is currently retired and serves as the chairman of the elders' court. In the village, he organized a men's veterans volleyball team, as well as teams for girls and women. He conducts training sessions and participates with them in tournaments. He graduated from the Kyrgyz State University, majoring in history teaching.

“After serving in the army, I returned in the fall of 1973, and in January 1974, when the winter holidays ended and the third quarter began, I started working as a music and physical education teacher at our village secondary school named after V. I. Lenin. That same year, we began making electric guitars by hand, and in 1975, we held a New Year's ball-masquerade at the school and gave our first concert for the students. The female students who were just starting to participate in the ensemble, as well as my subsequent soloist students, came to the 50th anniversary celebration we held on December 2.

The reason we started making electric guitars ourselves was as follows: during my service in the army, I played in an ensemble with Russian comrades, and upon returning home, I was gifted a handmade guitar. At that time, the military unit's club was equipped with instruments, while the handmade guitars remained unused. Based on the guitar I brought back, we began making other guitars at the village school. We used equipment from film projectors (from the physics classroom) as amplifiers. Thus, the ensemble began to take shape in 1975.

In 1975, I created an instrumental ensemble, and just recently we celebrated its 50th anniversary by presenting a large concert with a wide program,” he said.
According to him, at that time, they organized an agitation brigade and performed for workers, shepherds, and others, conducting lectures and concerts. Around 1976-1977, graduates of the school in the village of Ottyk in the Ulahol state farm created a Komsomol brigade called "Altyn-Bulak". They engaged in animal husbandry, worked on several herds, and a special sheepfold was built at the foot of the mountains. They traveled there with ensemble participants, gave concerts, and held meetings with Komsomol members, arriving in an open-top vehicle: “If I’m not mistaken, the Komsomol organizer at that time was a girl with the last name Mambetova.”

“Our agitation brigade mainly worked during the sheep lambing season, as there were many sakmanchiks (people caring for newborn lambs), and we were often approached by the party organizer and the workers of the state farm. We didn’t limit ourselves to just concerts — we also gave lectures about events in the country and the world, about socialist competitions, and other topics. Usually, our history teacher S. Akmatov traveled with us. There was electricity in the sheepfolds, and we connected the equipment — including amplifiers from the "Ukraina" film projector — and entertained people with concerts.

From the late 1990s to the 2000s, the ensemble almost ceased to function fully, performing only occasionally — at events like "Sarmerden" or "Yr Kese," accompanying individual singers. Essentially, after retiring, the ensemble's activities came to a halt: the equipment and instruments became outdated, some were lost, and some broke. When we decided to celebrate the 50th anniversary, I repaired the instruments I had, acquired additional ones with the support of our sons and daughters, and we gathered former student musicians again to hold the anniversary.

Thus, the ensemble "Uchkyn" was re-established, and we hope it will start working actively again, “come to life,” refresh and rejuvenate its lineup,” he shared.

“To be honest, in my youth, I didn’t feel the difficulties much — we ran to public events after classes, regardless of day or night. However, this time, while organizing and conducting the 50th anniversary of the ensemble and preparing the concert program, it was not easy for me. The equipment was old and needed repairs, the instruments needed updating, my singers had long graduated from school and lived in different places — I had to reach out to them, prepare the repertoire, and much more. In general, there were quite a few difficulties,” noted B. Tyumenbaev.

Among B. Tyumenbaev's achievements is the creation and design of the school local history museum named after the Hero of Socialist Labor Tölösün Ismailov. This museum won a prize at the regional exhibition in the 1980s. He is also one of the authors of the textbook "World History" for 10th grades in the Kyrgyz Republic (paragraphs §1–§27).

He has sports achievements in volleyball at the district level and has been awarded certificates and diplomas. He used to run two kilometers in the morning and evening. Now he walks more often. He practices race walking.

“Sometimes, when I have free time, I draw for the village kindergarten — drawing can be called my hobby.

I am a family man. My wife is Kazakh, and we have been living together for 50 years. We met when she was studying at a cooperative technical school in Frunze and came to our Ulahol state farm for agricultural work in the summer (at that time, students were sent to work during the holidays). We dated for about a year and then got married. Now she jokes: “I even liked your lake.”

I have five children — two daughters and three sons, and to date, we have 14 grandchildren.

As for future goals, first of all, I wish for peace and a bright future for children. If the Almighty grants me health, I would like to continue working on the development of rural culture (artistic creativity) and sports — among veterans, girls, and women, contributing to the enhancement of their skills,” he said.

Read also:

Write a comment: