¨cˇu'm„a* Ertesi ACTIVITIES /// No:3
Istanbul Complaints Choir Presents:
As part of the Complaints Choir project initiated by artists Tellervo Kalleinen (FIN) and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen, Istanbul Complaints Choir, assembled through an announcement made in December by CUMA – Contemporary Utopia Management, invites you to a performance to listen to their complaints about Istanbul.
Istanbul Complaints Choir, gathering people of various ages, social and occupational backgrounds ranging from insurance advisor to retired bank clerk, manager to graphic designer, and from architect to primary school teacher will be performing the composition by renowned composer Michael Ellison. The people involved in the choir were selected regardless of any musical skills and background.
The lyrics of the Istanbul Complaints Choir was created during a three-week complaints workshop in Istanbul. The participants were found through advertisements.
Venue and date of performance:
26 December 2009, at 3 pm
MIAM (Dr. Erol Üçer Centre for Advanced Studies in Music),
İstanbul Technical University Maçka Campus, School of Foreign Languages
For more information;
info@c-u-m-a.org
*Michael Ellison:
Serving on the faculty of MIAM Center for Advanced Studies in Music at Istanbul Technical University, Michael Ellison has received numerous awards for his compositions, including from Copland House (2006), the Beebe Foundation (New England Conservatory), the Ojai Festival, the Barlow Endowment, and ASCAP.
The years 2008-2011 promise a windfall of new works: Commissioned by the BBC, Ellison’s ‘Turkish’ Concerto K. 219, for Turkish instruments, cello and orchestra (2008) was premiered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London. 2011, the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic will premiere Ellison’s first opera, Say I Am You-Mevlana, in a co-production with Rotterdam Operadagen in the Netherlands. Ellison’s new work for percussion and piano, Ariadne’s Thread, on the festival Mediterraneus in Aqui Terme, Italy in October 2010, while the Fry Street Quartet has commissioned a new work for string quartet for US premiere in 2011-12.
*Burak Erdem
Having participated in choral conducting masterclasses of famous choral conductors like Anders Eby (Sweden) and Stefan Claas (Germany) and in the choral workshop led by Wim Van Herk (Holland), Erdem had the opportunity to study actively with Elisenda Carrasco I Ribot (Spain) during the Ankara 2nd Choral Conducting Seminar. Erdem took part in the European Young Choral Conductors Seminar in Graz, led by Johannes Prinz (Austria). He has given many concerts in national and international festivals with the Bogazici University Choir, which he has been conducting since 2006. He initiated and directed the Bogazici University Choral Festival, first organized in 2009. Currently he is making his master studies in Music Theory in ITU Centre of Advanced Studies in Music.
CREDITS
The Istanbul Complaints Choir was produced and coordinated by CUMA – Contemporary Utopia Management, Esra A. Aysun and Ece Pazarbaşı.
The song was composed, conducted and accompanied by Michael Ellison and the choir training was realised by Burak Erdem.
Members of the Istanbul Complaints Choir are A. Defne Önen, Anıl Çalçalı, Ayça Öner, Begüm Bilgiler, Bilge Aybudak, Belma Kahveci, Burcu Dursun, Büşra Kasap, Canan Cihan, Canan Yücel, Çiğdem Öğüt, Damla Hacaloğlu, Deniz Aygün, Ecem Öksüz, Emel Şimşek, Emine Gökkaya, Ersin Şenel, Fatoş Çırnaz, Funda Gürsel, Harika Bayrak, Hüma Özay, Julie Upmeyer, Meltem Temiz, Mesut Zaman, Metin Menekşe, Mustafa Tabak, Nidal Aras, Nilay Mutlu, Nur Özşimşek, Ozan Avcı, Özgül Dereli, Rana Öztürk, Rıfat Arcan, Selen Sarıel, Selin Kocagöncü, Sezin Eker, Elif Sonay Konuk, Soner Öztürk, Tuba Önal, Tuğba Kılınç and Tuğçe Çelik.
Sound recording by Can Karadoğan
Filming and editing by Fırat Kıray and Hasan Tual
Still photography by Refik Akyüz ve Serdar Darendeliler
Project assistance by Pınar Başoğlu
Special thanks to Aytek Gürkan and Turgut Yaman
¨cˇu’m„a* Ertesi ACTIVITIES, is a series of events aimed at the inhabitants of the city, intending to reveal the cheerful and inspiring, creative and productive, scary and compelling faces of the city in a humorous way, both for the participating residents and other urban dwellers. The series' structural motivation emerges from the urge to break down the tedious daily cycle of the city, which inhibits the individuals from perceiving and contemplating during their hasty and monotonous daily routine of urban life.
