– Hello, Timur, please tell us about your work in Austin.
I have been making music all my life, for over twenty years. For a long time I played in different groups and regularly performed on different stages. But after 30 years, when I already had two children, I decided for myself that performances in nightclubs and in general a “rock and roll” schedule did not suit me. Therefore, almost immediately I found a wonderful niche for myself in the field of teaching.
I must admit that not every good musician can necessarily be a good teacher. As you know, teaching is a vocation. And I suddenly discovered in myself a love for teaching, but my love for music was instilled in me by my mother, she was a wonderful composer.
Such warm and kind people live in Austin, thanks to whom, to my great surprise, I managed to recruit more than 30 students in a short time. Word of mouth worked and I did not even have time to launch my site, when the need for it was gone, by and large, since by that time I already had a full schedule.
– Where did you live before, and how did you end up in Austin?
We were born in the city of Tashkent and got married there. Then in 2008 we moved to Almaty, and this city was a second home for us. Our parents have been living in the USA, in the city of Houston for 20 years. They applied for family reunification, but the whole process took 12 years. As you know, the embassy usually does not give any explanations, they simply said – wait. We have been in America for 4 years. The first year we lived in Houston. We heard that Austin was an amazing city, and later we decided to move here, which we do not regret at all.
– What do you like most about Austin?
Austin reminds us of our native Almaty. Despite the fact that we live in Texas, there is a lot of greenery in this city and in the area where we live there is very clean air. I like the infrastructure, and that this is a great family town. But the main thing is, of course, the people!
– How do you participate in the life of the Russian-speaking community?
Most of my students are Russian-speaking children from our community. I am very happy to participate in many events organized by the Russian community.
– What event in the life of the community in recent years excited you the most?
Pancake week.
– What do you do and are interested in besides this?
We travel quite often with our family both in Texas and in other states. Therefore, I can confidently say that we love to travel.
– What else would you like to tell us about yourself?
We have an idea to organize a local Book Club, where people who love Russian and foreign classics, and in general those who love books, could meet.
– How can Austin’s Russian speakers support you?
I would like to have more communication, meetings and some kind of joint projects.
– What are your dreams for Russian speakers in Austin in the future?
We dream of socialization and friendship!
– What would you like Americans to learn about your culture, traditions, holidays?
We have already held a series of concerts and will definitely hold more concerts where folk songs are performed in Uzbek and Russian. Before a song, there is usually a little background about what this or that song is about and the history of its creation. We would like to convey to the local listener that in our, in particular Asian, mentality there are special features, such as: respect for elders, hospitality, generosity, sympathy and love for all peoples.
Contact information:
Timur Tahtaganov
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timur.takhtaganov.9
Tel: (281) 657-5933
Instagram: tim.tgnv
Email: timskillz@gmail.com
Interviewer: Ekaterina Medvedeva-Kosova
Publisher: Russian Cultural Center