The New Jersey Turkish Music Chorus
Tickets at Box Office
Friday, May 28, 2004
7:00 pm

The Sanctuary at St. Peter's Church
619 Lexington Avenue
(Corner of 54th Street)
New York, NY 10022

Tickets: $15 (adults), $10 (students with ID)

Comprised of both professional and amateur musicians and vocalists who are united in their love for the rich tradition of Turkish music, the New Jersey Turkish Music Chorus will present an evening of Turkish classical music. Rooted in the musical tradition of the Ottoman court and heavily influenced by Arabic and Persian musical tradition, classical Turkish is not written down in scores, but is played by marking the makam, a pattern similar to the major-minor scale system. Taksim (improvisation) is a traditional variation technique featuring this form. One of the characteristics of Turkish classical and folk music, as well as military music and hymns, is that they are monophonic.

The New Jersey Turkish Music Chorus was founded by the Turkish-American Associations of New Jersey (Türk Ocagi) and Nedim Katgi in 2000. Since its inception, the New Jersey Turkish Music Chorus has performed in several concerts featuring the songs of celebrated songwriters such as Dede Efendi, Saadettin Kaynak, Itri, Münir Nurettin Selçuk, Misirli Ibrahim, Ismail Baha Sürelsan, Giriftzen Asim Bey, and Hafiz Post.

Musicians:

Tamer Pinarbasi (kanun)
Ara Dinkjian (ud)
Yuri Yunakov (saxaphone)
Chuck Yegian (darbuka)

Chorus:
Zeynep Alankus
Aysel Aran
Ayten Can
Melih Canti
Hacer Çakmakçi
Alev Necile Dinç
Birsen Dogus
Yilmaz Dogus
Erdogan Endaz
Alev Kutan Erdi
Ahmet Erener
Olgun Kurkan
Birnur Aral Nehrozoglu
Fatos Özkaynak
Gülten Solak
Cengiz Tasdemir
Yücel Üstündag
Caner Yilmaz
Sami Yilmaz