Back in Ankara

Merhaba!

We've just arrived back in Ankara after a sold out and successfully performed concert in Antakya, a city just inland from the Mediterranean and almost on the border with Syria. We had a chance to do some mildly tourist things while visiting Antakya - the city boasts the second largest mosaic collection (next to Paris) and was the site of the first Christian church, the Church of St. Peter. We headed up to the hills surrounding the city and took in the striking view of the entirety of Antakya, and climbed some remnants of a old castle overlooking the city.

As for the concert - it was to benefit a mentally handicapped school in the city, which we visited in the afternoon before the concert. Because we were able to sell every seat in the house, we raised around 7,000 TL (4,000 USD) for the school. We played a great show, which of course was followed by a dinner of epic proportions and we had a great time getting to know the director of the school and some of the people involved in the local classical music lovers association.

The program for this concert:

Stravinsky - L'histoire du soldat
Saygun - two etudes, a piece for children
Bruch - Eight Pieces Op.88, no. I and VIII

intermission
Eryilmaz - Miniatures, first set
Eryilmaz - Suite for piano
Bartok - Contrasts

For the next few days we will be working up the program for the two concerts in Ankara, this includes works by Robert Carl, Jessica Rudman and Erik Nielsen. Hopefully we'll get some time to explore Ankara, which we haven't had much of a chance to do.

Güle güle

please enjoy Erberk's rendition of "Teenage mutant ninja turtles"