Shekerbek Sherkulov (1902—1980), one of the last students of Toktogul Satylganov, was born in the village of Talas-Aryk, now part of the Talas district in the Talas region, into a family of musicians. In his childhood, Shekerbek not only played the komuz but also performed folk songs and dastans. One of his favorite tales was the Kazakh dastan "Kyz Zhibek."
In 1926, the young musician became a student of Toktogul Satylganov. After numerous meetings and lessons, Toktogul advised Shekerbek to further develop his virtuosic technique on the instrument.
However, life had other plans. From 1930 to 1934, Sherkulov worked in a collective farm as a tractor driver. In 1935, after completing a one-year mechanization course in the city of Tokmok, he became a foreman. It was only in 1936 that Shekerbek, deciding to participate in the first All-Kyrgyz Olympiad of folk musical creativity, began to focus intensively on his artistic work. As a result, by the decision of the jury, he was accepted as a komuz player in the philharmonic orchestra. A. Zataevich recorded three kyus in his performance: "Ker tolgoo," "Zhany turmush kezi uchun," and "Surnai kuu."
At the first Decade of Kyrgyz Art in Moscow, Shekerbek Sherkulov played in the ensemble of komuz players of the republican philharmonic. In 1943-1944, he was included in a concert brigade that performed on the Ukrainian and Belarusian fronts. In 1944, for his active concert and creative activities, Sh. Sherkulov was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Republic, and in 1958, for his successful participation in the second Decade of Kyrgyz Art in Moscow, he was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor.
During his active creative years, Shekerbek Sherkulov composed songs and performed kyus for the komuz.
Among his best compositions are the kyus "Youth March" ("Zhashtar marshy"), "Kyuu of Peace" ("Tynchtyk kuusu"), "Maiden's Dream" ("Kyz kyial"), "The Onset of Old Age" ("Karylyktin aldы"), "Be Healthy" ("Esен bol"), "The Happiness of Labor" ("Emgek bakyty"), as well as the songs "My Talas" ("Talasym"), "Arzykan" (a female name), "The Beauty of the Village in the Trees" ("Guldusun kyshtak bak menen"), "The Heart is Troubled" ("Jurek tolkuйt"),
Shekerbek Sherkulov knew and performed many kyus created by other authors. In 1982, about 80 works for the komuz were recorded in his performance on Kyrgyz Radio. He also contributed to the development of ensemble playing: from 1965 to 1969, Sherkulov worked in the Talas People's Theater as the head of the ensemble of komuz players.
