Shusha Music School

Baku, April 23, AZERTAC Since ancient times, music was widely used in public celebrations and spiritual processions in Karabakh. Starting from the first half of the nineteenth century, the performing arts rapidly evolved in Karabakh, especially in the heart of the region – the city of Shusha. In 1870-the 1880s, various musical meetings, clubs, and schools were opened in Shusha. Eminent Azerbaijani singers Kharrat Gulu and Molla Ibrahim were the creators of the music school in Shusha. Later, the famous singer Haji Husu and musicologist Mir Mohsun Navvab created the Society of Musicologists in the city. Since then, groups of singers were performing songs in intervals between theatre performances, and in the early 20th century they started giving independent concerts on stages. Based on this tradition, on October 10, 1932, Shusha Music School, the first children’s music school, was established in Azerbaijan on the initiative of Bulbul, the founder of Azerbaijan’s vocal art. This musical school was operating in the Khurshudbanu Natavan’s House. Since 1984, this school was renamed the Shusha Children’s Art School named after Niyazi. However, after the occupation of Shusha by the Armenian Armed Forces in 1992, Shusha Music School was torn down.