Press Release
2018 KK Capp Fest Press Release
8th International Cappadocia Music Festival and Young Artist program
Dates: August 25- September 9
Working nestled within the walls of a restored Ottoman medresse in Mustafapasha, now the home of Cappadocia University, Klasik Keyifler (KK) is drawing musicians together to study and make music together. Professionals and aspiring young talents will be performing, teaching and engaging with a wide variety of audiences throughout the entire region; from hand-carved caves, hidden courtyards and museums through the spectacular outdoor landscapes that makes Cappadocia one of the wonders of the world.
The Cappadocia Music Festival is made possible through the sponsorship of Ankara-based Goethe Institute and Institut Francais Turquie, a US-based NGO Chamber Music Exchange (CME) focused on musical exchange projects, Cappadocia University, Karakuş and several unique boutique hotels in the region including the Museum Hotel, Seraphim Cave Hotel and Hanedan Cappadocia Suites. The festival is organized by a team of KK performers and is supported by the Klasik Keyifler Muzik Dernegi, a non-profit association of 250 members.
KK continues its tradition of presenting both traditional and eclectic classical concert programs and inviting seasoned professionals to play side by side with young artists. Participating this year will include a number of Turkish players who have established brilliant careers abroad including violinist Kivanc Tire- one of the first graduates of KK and now a member of the Gewaundhaus Orchestra, cellist Dorukhan Doruk- a concert soloist and current member of the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, and violinist Onder Baloglu who is one of the KK co-directors and currently concertmaster of the Duisburg Philharmonic as well as on the faculty of the Folkwang University of Arts, Essen. Onder will be joined by members of his string quartet- Quart.essence.
Leading a new generation of performers devoted to building a chamber music culture in Turkey are cellists Gökhan Bağci- one of the co-director of KK, a member of Borusan İstanbul Philharmonic as well as one of the founders of the Begoa Ensemble and Trio Ba, and Gozde Yaşar- a Fulbright recipient currently on the faculty at Mimar Sinan Conservatory in istanbul, along with violist Pınar Dinçer- member of the Semplice Quartet and member of the faculty at Yasar University in Izmir.
Joining them will be German violinist Rebekka Hartmann- winner of the “Echo Klassik Prize” for best solo CD, Russian virtuoso violist and esteemed pedagogue from the Leipzig Conservatory- Tatjana Masurenko, cellist Elizabeth Simkin- former teaching assistant to Janos Starker and innovative pedagogue from Ithaca College, NY and KK founder Ellen Jewett- violinist and former member of the Audubon String Quartet. Her CD of Turkish solo music for violin will be released by Naxos this season.
Through the generous sponsorship of Notacini and Doremusic, KK will host a group of keyboard players, all with unique international careers. Xak Bjerken, professor at Cornell University, has worked with countless composers and is currently recording a CD of newly commissioned piano concertos for Naxos Records. Lauma Skride is a Latvian pianist concertizing as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe. Başar Can Kıvrak, graduated with the highest honors from the Moscow Conservatory and is one of the founders of the Begoa Ensemble and Trio Ba. Jerfi Aji holds double graduate degrees in engineering and music and is currently on the faculty at Istanbul Technical University/ MIAM. French pianist Yannick Rafalimanana, an advocate for new music also performs throughout Europe and US with a wide number of collaborative musicians and orchestras. Highly acclaimed harpsichord player Wolfgang Kostujak, is a professor for harpsichord and historical performance at Folkwang University of Arts, Essen and an editor for Henle, Schott and Amadeus Editions.
Official Artist of Salvi Harps, Sasha Boldachev has performed as soloist with Bolshoi Theatre and joins the KK Festival under the special sponsorship of Museum Hotel.
KK strongly believes that we need to be anchored in the present as we travel back in time through our interpretations of musical literature. We put a priority on supporting composers in their new creations, and have invited composers Mahir Cetiz, a lecturer at Columbia University in NY and recent recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Mehmet Can Özer multifaceted composer whose music combines traditional musical elements with electroacoustic music and Onur Türkmen whose work focuses on Turkish modes as well as the interconnections between poetry, drama and ritual.
Contacts:
T: +90 554 692 89 82
İkizdere Sk. 6/5 GOP Çankaya-Ankara/Turkey
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