Anatolian Languages Come Together with Choirs!
Together with MAGMA & Boğaziçi Jazz Choir and MATRA, we set out believing that polyphonic choral music, which is strengthened by the coming together of different voices, is the most appropriate artistic formation to support the survival of different cultures and languages that we have hosted together in Anatolian lands for centuries, and we aimed to create a platform for the values of the relevant cultures to reach a wider audience. By focusing on the unifying effect of choral music, we want our children and young people who receive assistance from various social aid and solidarity institutions and who are waiting for support to be reintegrated into society to take a step in this field and set an example for other children and young people in the region.
At the beginning of the project, we aimed to establish choirs in seven different cities representing the different cultures living in our country. In the first stage, we determined these cities as Artvin, Çanakkale (Gökçeada), Hatay, Istanbul, Mardin, Rize (Fındıklı) and Tunceli. Two choir conductors, who were trained in this field and volunteered to establish a choir, were given a seven-day choir conducting workshop in Istanbul by Masis Aram Gözbek, General Artistic Director and Conductor of MAGMA & Boğaziçi Jazz Choir Family. Afterwards, these conductors were asked to form choirs of 40 children and young people between the ages of 16-29 in their regions and work together on a repertoire of local works to be determined, and five of these seven choirs have completed their auditions and started their work.
After a six-month working period, it was planned that the choirs established in each city would perform with the MAGMA Chamber Choir at a venue reflecting the cultural richness of the designated regions. In June 2020, we planned to host all choirs from the target cities at an event in Istanbul and organize concerts with seven choirs in a festival atmosphere, giving an opportunity for different cultures to interact with each other by performing common works to be determined.
However, with the COVID-19 pandemic affecting our country along with the rest of the world, the project was updated and online studies were initiated. The first output of the project, the Medley Anatolia virtual choir work, was published on digital platforms in March 2021.
Our project did end with the final concert on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at the Yücel Cultural Foundation Performance Center.
For details, click here!
To watch the first work of our project, Medley Anatolia, click here!
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