Asankhan Jumakhmatov (1923—2008) — Soviet Kyrgyz conductor, music educator.
People's Artist of the USSR (1976). Hero of the Kyrgyz Republic (2003).
Asankhan Jumakhmatov was born on June 16, 1923 (according to other sources — July 16) in the village of Issyk-Ata near the resort area of "Arashan" (now Issyk-Ata District, Chuy Region, Kyrgyzstan).
After his father was arrested and exiled, Asankhan was sent with his family to Ukraine. In 1938, he returned to his homeland, enrolled in the preparatory department of a pedagogical college, and simultaneously worked as an orchestra artist at the first Kyrgyz Musical and Dramatic Theater (now the Kyrgyz National Opera and Ballet Theater named after A. Maldybaev).
In September 1941, the State Symphony Orchestra of the USSR was evacuated to the city of Frunze (now Bishkek), where Asankhan played percussion instruments.
Jumakhmatov was a participant in the Great Patriotic War, where he was severely wounded and shell-shocked.
From 1945 to 1948, he studied at the national studio at the Moscow Conservatory, and in 1958 he graduated from the conservatory in the conducting class (teachers: Prof. L. M. Ginzburg and Prof. B. E. Khaykin). While a student at the conservatory, Jumakhmatov conducted the student orchestra.
Since 1948, he worked as a conductor at the Kyrgyz Opera and Ballet Theater named after A. Maldybaev, serving as the chief conductor of the theater from 1958 to 1962 and from 1972 to 1983.
From 1953 to 1957, he was the chief conductor of the Mossovet Theater in Moscow. From 1962 to 1972, he served as the chief conductor of the State Academic Orchestra of Folk Instruments named after Karamoldo Orozov, and from 1970, he was the artistic director and chief conductor of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of Kyrgyz Radio and Television (now the Kyrgyz National Television and Radio Company).
Since 1989, Asankhan Jumakhmatov has been the chief conductor of the State Chamber Orchestra "Nasyikat".
He toured extensively, often performing in the largest cities of the former USSR and abroad: Sweden, Iceland, Germany, Japan, Mongolia, China, Turkey, and others.
Jumakhmatov conducted the Large Symphony Orchestra of All-Union Radio and Television, the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow Philharmonic, and the State Symphony Orchestras of Latvia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.
He engaged in extensive public work, serving as president of the Union of Musical Figures of the Kyrgyz Republic (since 1987), vice-president of the International Union of Musical Figures, and president of the Kyrgyz branch of the International Academy of Creativity.
Since 1995, Jumakhmatov has been a professor at the Kyrgyz Conservatory. Throughout his long creative career, he trained many professional musicians and orchestra players.
Asankhan Jumakhmatov passed away on July 20, 2008 (according to other sources — July 21) in Bishkek.
Hero of the Kyrgyz Republic