Meridian’s American-Turkish Jazz Exchange to participate in the 11th Annual Turkish Festival

Washington DC: In September 2013, Meridian International Center will host five emerging jazz musicians from Ankara, Turkey, as part of the U.S.-Turkish Jazz Exchange. This is the musicians’ first-ever series of performances in the U.S., with concerts scheduled to be held at Meridian International Center, the historic Turkish Embassy Residence, DC public schools, Busboys and Poets, and the main stage at the 11th Annual Turkish Festival.

During their one-week visit, the Turkish musicians will meet some of Washington’s top music professionals, cultural leaders, and members of the performing arts community, as well as engage students, and learn about American culture. They will participate in a jazz spoken word performance with local poets at Busboys and Poets 5th & K location on September 26th.

Additionally, the young Turkish jazz musicians and members of the Blues Alley Youth Orchestra will perform on September 29th in the 11th Annual Turkish Festival with a free concert in downtown Washington, DC. This concert will be a highlight of the 2nd Annual Turkish Cultural Heritage Month and will be sponsored by the American-Turkish Association of DC (ATA-DC).

The Exchange, which also includes cultural activities, visits to DC public schools, and a jam session at Sitar Arts Center and Howard University, is funded in part through a $20,000 grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities to support the District’s Sister City relationship with Turkey’s capital. Additional support for the program was provided by the Turkish Cultural Foundation and Turkish Airlines, both of which sponsored international travel for group members, playing an instrumental role in supporting the exchange.

Meridian worked with a number of leading programming partners to ensure that the U.S.-Turkish Jazz Exchange brings the richest possible experience of Turkish culture to audiences in the U.S. According to Dr. Curtis Sandberg, Meridian’s Senior Vice President for the Arts: “This first-of-its-kind program will provide an opportunity for American audiences to enjoy rarely experienced live performances of Turkish artists who have never before visited our country. We are extremely pleased to be working with a number of top-notch partners to make this a success, including the Blues Alley Youth Orchestra, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey, the American-Turkish Association of Washington DC (ATA-DC), and the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA).”

Emre Kartari – the founder of Turkey’s first government-funded jazz program at Hacettepe University in Ankara – has created this Turkish jazz ensemble composed of emerging young talent.

U.S.-Turkey Student Jazz Exchange Program Participating Musicians:

Emre Kartari (Manager) – Emre holds a B.A. in performance, with a concentration on percussion, from Virginia Commonwealth University, USA, and an M.A. in jazz performance and composition from New York University, where he received the Barney Josephson Award from NYU in 2003 for outstanding performance. While in New York, Mr. Kartari studied with Warren Smith, Adam Nussbaum, John Riley, Tony Moreno, Billy Hart and Jamey Haddad. He has performed with jazz greats, including Charlie Byrd, Jim McNeely, Ralph Lalama, Vic Juris, Ron McClure, Mike Richmond and David Liebman. As an educator, he worked with the New York Pops-Mentors in Music program. In 2009 he began working for the Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory, forming Turkey’s first jazz program funded by the state. With the support of local U.S. Embassy, Mr. Kartari organized a jazz festival and numerous concerts to help create an active jazz scene in Ankara. He is currently working at the Yaşar University to institute similar programming in Ízmir, Turkey.

Yunus Emre Muti (Guitar) – Yunus was one of the first ten students to be accepted into Turkey’s first state sponsored jazz program at the Ankara State Conservatory. He has studied with Emre Kartari, Howard Curtis, and Skip Gailes. In addition to studying jazz guitar, Yunus maintains a busy performing schedule in Ankara.

Eerkan Alagok – Born in 1990 in Ankara, Turkey, Serkan demonstrated an interest in music at an early age. Although he earned an undergraduate degree in bassoon performance from the Ankara State Conservatory, his true love is the drums. While he has played with jazz and rock groups in Turkey, he currently performs with the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, the Hacettepe Academic Orchestra, and the Antalya State Orchesta.

Emre Topak (Bass) – After studying classical guitar, Emre switched to playing jazz bass. He studied jazz theory with Turkish pianist Tuna Otenel. A sought-after bass player, he has worked with many of the top jazz musicians in the Turkish jazz scene.

Cemre Yilmaz (Vocals) – Cemre is one of the first students to be accepted to the Ankara Conservatory’s Jazz Department. She recently gained admission to the Jazz Department at the Graz Conservatory in Austria, where she will continue her studies in fall 2013.

Berk Kurdoglu – Born in Ankara, Turkey, Berk studied harmony and classical piano at an early age with Mehmet Okonsar. After being accepted into the first state supported jazz program at Hacettepe University, he studied with Howard Curtis and Skip Gailes. He is currently a third year student at Hacettepe University.