BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 16. Baku will host the First Congress of Composers of the Turkic World on September 18–20, 2026, as part of the 18th Uzeyir Hajibeyli International Music Festival.
The Congress is organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation in cooperation with the ICESCO Baku Regional Office, the Union of Composers of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan National Conservatory.
The event is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the First Baku Turkological Congress, the 885th anniversary of the birth of Nizami Ganjavi and the 585th anniversary of the birth of Alisher Navoi.
Prominent representatives of the music communities of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Hungary are expected to participate.
The three-day programme will combine institutional, academic and concert activities. It will include plenary and constituent sessions, an international round table, thematic exhibitions, as well as concerts featuring symphonic, chamber and traditional music.
The central event will be the establishment of the Turkic Union of Composers (TUC), a new international professional platform intended to bring together leading composers, musicologists, performers and representatives of major music institutions from Turkic countries.
A constituent meeting of the Turkic Union of Composers will be held on September 19 at the headquarters of the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation in Baku.
Participants are expected to sign the Baku Declaration on the Establishment of the TUC and discuss the draft Charter of the new organization.
The establishment of the Union is intended to strengthen professional ties between the music communities of the Turkic world. Particular attention will be paid to preserving and developing the shared musical heritage, supporting contemporary schools of composition, expanding creative exchanges and promoting Turkic music internationally.
A press conference will be held at the headquarters of the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation at 16:00 on September 19. It will present the results of the Congress, the establishment of the TUC, the signing of the Baku Declaration and prospects for the development of the new professional association.
