In memory of the outstanding Turkmen guitarist Islam Babayev, according to an already established tradition, a guitar music festival was held in the Small Hall of the Turkmen National Conservatory named after M. Kulieva, where young performers performed.
The concert program consisted mainly of Turkmen national melodies: Nar agajy, Çoh derde goýan ýarym, Meleguş and others.This was reported by the publication “Turkmenistan: Golden Age”.The collection of famous works of Turkmen folk music for guitar is regularly updated thanks to the activities of the senior teacher of TNK Murad Kurbanov and the teacher of the 3rd Ashgabat music school Leyla Nasyrova.
The concert opened with Islam Babaev’s piece Bahar heňi, performed by students of the Special Music Boarding School at TNK. Students of the capital's children's music schools No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5, as well as students of the Turkmen National Conservatory also showed off their talents on stage.
The name of Islam Babayev is firmly inscribed in the history of Turkmen musical art. Having opened classical guitar classes at the music school and conservatory, he made a significant contribution to the formation and development of the national guitar school. The Guitar Music Festival is an annual event organized by his followers.