Hosted at the La Jolla Community Center
Step into the ancient musical world of Turkmenistan with Mohammad Geldi Geldi Nejad, known by the honorific Oghlan Bakhshi, roughly translated as “prodigious child bard.” In this rare solo performance, he brings to life a centuries-old tradition of dutar (two-string lute) playing and bardic singing passed down through generations of nomadic storytellers. His strumming evokes the galloping rhythms of horses across the steppes, while his guttural vocal ornamentation conveys the full range of nomadic emotions—from love and longing to sorrow and heroic struggle.
Oghlan Bakhshi vividly animates epic tales of romance, bravery, and resilience, offering audiences a rare glimpse into a musical heritage seldom heard outside Central Asia, where history, nature, and oral storytelling are inseparably intertwined.
Following the performance, audience members will have the opportunity to engage with the artist in a Q&A session, gaining a deeper insight into Turkmen musical traditions and culture.
About the Artist
Mohammad Geldi Geldi Nejad is at the forefront of Turkmen music. Born in 1993 into a musical family in Gonbad-e Kavus, in the Turkmen region of Iran, he began studying music at the age of six with his father, Abdolghaffar Geldi Nejad, a master of the gyjak (a type of spike fiddle).
At the age of ten, a council of Turkmen music masters conferred upon the young Geldi Nejad the title Oghlan Bakshi—by which, as mentioned above, he is now known. He is only the second person in the past century to receive this prestigious recognition. Trained by esteemed Turkmen musicians, he has performed widely at festivals and world music programs across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America.
Committed to scholarship as well as performance, Oghlan Bakshi earned an MA in ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University and is currently pursuing a PhD in musicology and ethnomusicology at Brown University, further advancing the study and preservation of Turkmen musical heritage.
Oghlan Bakhshi is the first indigenous Turkmen musician and composer to bring the rich Turkmen traditional arts to Western audiences. His recent album, Journey Across the Steppes, marks the first international release of Turkmen folk music in 30 years.
La Jolla Community Center
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This is the third of six concerts in our 2026 Global Stage Passport Series.
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