Ayshemgul Memet is an Uyghur traditional musician, born in 1970 in Shixo. She studied folk performance and the muqam modes at the Xinjiang Art Institute, from 1992-1996. After her graduation, she became a professor of folk music at the same institute, until 2000. She afterwards traveled to Uzbekistan to study different kinds of muqam traditions in Central Asia. Muqams, folksongs, and religious songs are transmitted orally from generation to generation, and have influenced (as well having been influenced by) different cultures around the area. Memet's first performance in Europe was in Paris in 2002, with a group of Uyghur musicians from Tashkent. After her stay in Tashkent, she came back to the institute in Urumchi to become a Muqam teacher for another five years. In 2007, she won the first prize in traditional singing at the International Chinese Music competition in Beijing, China. She decided to move back to Uzbekistan, and in 2008 she started her MA degree at Tashkent musical conservatory, majoring in traditional musical performance. Her love for Muqam isn't only limited to performing; over the course of several years Ayshemgul Memet has published many scientific articles about traditional Uyghur Muqams and the performing art. She was invited to give lectures at many conferences about Uyghur music. Memet has also collaborated with other artists numerous times, performing works with orchestras and ensembles.