Performing before the Dalai Lama

A Year 11 pupil has had the rare opportunity to perform before the Nobel Peace Laureate and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama.

Daniyar Ismailov was invited to perform in Limerick University – alongside his mother Dr Razia Sultanova, a Fellow of the University of Cambridge – where the Dalai Lama was giving a special address on The Power of Forgiveness.

Daniyar, who plays cello in the School’s Senior String Orchestra, plays both traditional Western classical music and also music from Eastern cultures. At Limerick he and his mother performed Tanovar, with Daniyar on doira – a frame drum – while his mother played the dutar – a long-necked plucked lute.

Following a performance at the British Embassy in Uzbekistan last year, Daniyar was invited to visit the Foreign & Commonwealth office in May where he had the opportunity to meet experts on Central Asia.