Maimuna

She began her musical education at Music School No. 1. From 1994 to 1999, she studied at the Mogilev State Gymnasium-College of Arts.

In 1999, Maimuna received a scholarship from the special fund of the President of the Republic of Belarus to support talented youth. That same year, she enrolled at the Belarusian State Academy of Music, specializing in string instruments.

During her studies at the Academy of Music, she performed with the Youth Symphony Orchestra “Moloday Belarus”. She participated in several international tours with the orchestra. One of the significant projects during this period was her solo performances during the orchestra’s tour on Reunion (France).

She worked as a teacher at the Minsk State Music School named after M. Glinka for two years.

In 2003, Maimuna Diko became the first violinist of the Presidential Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus under the direction of Viktor Babarykin. She worked with the orchestra until 2009. As a member of the Presidential Orchestra, she participated in numerous festivals and concert programs. The most notable among them are the International Arts Festival Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk (2003-2009), the International Pop Music Festival Komrat-2005, Songs of the World-2006 in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, the International Music Festival Golden Hit in Mogilev (2003, 2007, 2009), and the Yuri Bashmet International Festival (2006-2009).

Maimuna’s solo career began with the recording of “Humoresque” in 2009, composed by Kirill Kristya. In 2010-2011, she collaborated with Belarusian bayan player Pavel Nevmerzhitsky, recording “Csárdás” by Vittorio Monti in 2010 and “Libertango” by Astor Piazzolla in 2011.

She also collaborated with Belarusian composer Yevgeny Oleinik, with whom she created instrumental compositions such as “Queen of Africa,” “Malanka”, and “Vyartanne”. In 2011, she released her first maxi-single, “Queen of Africa,” which included instrumental compositions from different years.

Maimuna participated in the International Arts Festival Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk in 2011 and 2012. In 2011, she performed as a guest in the anniversary concert “Syabry Gather Friends” of the Syabry ensemble. In 2012, she performed at the closing ceremony of the Slavianski Bazaar together with Marina Degtyareva’s ballet “Maridans.”

In July 2012, she gave a solo concert as the headliner at the “Ljubljana Festival” held annually at the Slovenian Philharmonic Hall in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

In October 2014, she released her second album, “Showtime,” which brought together compositions of various genres. The music for the album was composed by Vitaly Sudin, a professional cellist and author of soundtracks for theatrical productions and films. Among the compositions is an interpretation of Michael Jackson’s legendary “Medley,” which became a tribute to the violinist’s favorite artist.

On December 26, the final of the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 took place. The winner was the duo Uzari & Maimuna with the song “Time,” which earned them the right to represent their country in Austria. The idea of a collaborative composition combining classical crossover and pop-rock genres belonged to Maimuna.

At the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna, Uzari & Maimuna unfortunately did not qualify for the final.

In November 2016 she performed at the concert “Leaving No One Behind” for the 50th anniversary of UNDP and “Inclusive Belarus” company “Showtime”. She performed together with Konstantin Goryachy. In 2017, Maimuna started performing at the open-air venue “U Ratushi” (Freedom Square). She was accompanied by the Belarusian State Academic Music Theater conducted by Yuri Galyas. The shows were called “Pumayanke”.

On December 14th, a new solo concert by Maimuna started at the Belarusian State Musical Theater, featuring a program specially prepared for listeners with different musical tastes, including works of various genres. In December 2019, she performed in Lithuania.

On 18 March 2021, the official video of Maimuna’s performance of “Lacrimosa” was released. The video was followed on 8 October 2022 by “Misirlou”. On 3 May 2023, her new album “Broken magic” was released.