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Daulet Halek

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Daulet Halek (1939-2008) was a Kazakh Chinese music performer and composer. He was born on December 21, 1939 in Karagash Village, Araltobe Town, Qinggil County, Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang. Raised under the influence of Kazakh folk music, Daulet came to know the works of many Kazakh composers and learned to play them through records. In 1956, he joined the Song & Dance Ensemble of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture and became a professional dombra performer. During the 1950s, Daulet performed various times in Beijing, he was received by leaders of the nation in 1957 and awarded certificate of honour by the Ministry of Culture of China. As a representative of China, Daulet also performed abroad for audiences in Central Asia; in 1994, he won the first prize at the 11th Kartal International Art Festival held in Türkiye. During the Cultural Revolution, Daulet was sent down to Araltobe Township (now Araltobe Town), Qinggil County, and sentenced to “reform through labour”. After his rehabilitation in 1974, Daulet resumed his job at the Song & Dance Ensemble of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture. From the early-1980s on, Daulet travelled to all major areas of Kazakh settlement in Xinjiang, as well as those in other provinces, including the Aksay Kazakh Autonomous County in Gansu Province. He collected and organised more than two thousand pieces of traditional Kazakh tunes and folk songs, making a significant contribution to the rescue, preservation, publication, and research of Kazakh cultural heritage. With his dombra, Daulet played a variety of tunes from the 56 ethnic groups in China, in praise of the deep friendship across all peoples. Daulet created a total of 17 compositions during his lifetime. His representative works include "The Source of Happiness", "Awule's Joy", "Shuangqing River", and many more.