At 70, Singer Avraham Tolmasov Skips a Jubilee Concert and Calls for a Permanent Bukharian Cultural Center

Avraham Tolmasov, one of the best-known singers of Bukharian Jewish music, has turned 70 and has decided not to mark the occasion with a jubilee concert or a celebration in his honor, he told The Bukharian Times in an interview published in the newspaper’s Oct. 29 edition. The interview was conducted by Leonid Elizarov; the English version was translated from Russian by the newspaper. “Why should I be summing up my life? I still have many plans, many projects,” Tolmasov said, according to the newspaper. He said he wanted to spend his time on creative work, good deeds and preserving the culture of his people. Bukharian Jewish Post reported on his 70th birthday on Oct. 16. A Samarkand childhood Tolmasov told the newspaper that he grew up in Samarkand in a family of 12 children, 10 biological and two adopted, including a Muslim girl. He said the family lived among well-known performers, naming Gavriel Mullokandov, his father Gavriel Tolmasov, his uncle Mikhael Tolmasov, Israel Tolmasov and Avner Baraev, and he called the neighborhood “one big conservatory.” He recounted that when he auditioned for a music school he was told he was tone deaf, that he was admitted after his cousin Rafael Tolmasov intervened, and that he was assigned the tuba. He said he left after about six months, never earned a diploma and was already performing professionally. Tolmasov also described a sold-out concert in Samarkand during perestroika. He said he was summoned by the KGB, told his ticket prices were too high and threatened with cancellation. According to his account, the matter was resolved after a contact in Moscow, whom he named as General Dragunsky, called officials in Uzbekistan. He said he then gave six concerts in three days, donated the proceeds to an orphanage and decided to emigrate to Israel. A call for lasting institutions Most of the interview concerned the future of Bukharian Jewish culture. Tolmasov said many young people no longer understand Bukhori and that, with the language, the community risks losing its songs, proverbs and humor. “Concerts alone won’t solve anything,” he said. He called for ongoing programs: schools and studios where children can study music, Bukhori classes in the schools community children attend, a Bukhori-language radio station, and a permanent Bukharian Jewish cultural center with its own theater. He noted that Israel once had a Bukharian Jewish theater, Boris Namatiev’s company, which he said was supported by philanthropist Lev Leviev, and said he believed Leviev could help support a new center and that other donors would follow. He also suggested approaching Knesset members and municipalities. He praised the Shashmaqam work of teacher Ezro Malakov with children and credited Zhanna Cohen of Or Yehuda, whom the interview identified as the city’s deputy mayor, with helping him introduce schoolchildren to Bukharian music. Asked what gift he wanted for his birthday, Tolmasov answered: “I want our culture to live on.” Sources: The Bukharian Times, “I Am Avraham Tolmasov!” by Leonid Elizarov, Oct. 29, 2026 (translated from Russian by the newspaper); Bukharian Jewish Post, Oct. 16, 2026.