Summer in full speed

Hi everybody!
The summer is hot and I hate it!
Yess! Honestly, I don't like summer months. I's hot and humid and takes away all my energy but thanks God, I have new pieces to study and learn. And where I am now, is a good place to be during summer months as it's windy during the hottest hours of the day.
And here's a short summary of what happened lately:
After we ended the season, I was really tired and needed a little break. So right after the last concert in İzmir, I took a bus to Bodrum, where we have a little stone house and simply unplugged myself. We stayed for some days there and that was really heaven!

In Istanbul, on the other hand, we had our end of season meeting as a whole choir and that also was a good one for we discussed about what to do next. And the biggest outcome of that meeting was the decision of applying to one of the greatest choral competitions of the world: Marktoberdorf Choral Competition in Germany! So from now on we will have another busy season and that's almost certain. I, on the other hand, am not sure if I am good enough to sing in that competition. So I'll see myself in the light of our rehearsals and decide about that. Our maestro has to cut some of us back anyway for the simple reason that the choirs can not be more that 32 singers. And we are 40! And plus! So some of us must be left home anyway. I'll see, we'll see...
We are starting our rehearsals coming Saturday! Tomorrow! Mid July! We'll have a full weekend to sing! And I can not wait for that! I'll miss the Saturday's one but still that's fine! I'll catch up the next day!
We have lots of plans, new projects and interesting ideas. Our maestro came up with really inspiring suggestions and this is why I love him so much. He never stops! His life is music and you can read that on his lovely young face!
So now I am waiting for our summer rehearsals with pleasure.
Bye for now!

End of Season... Is it?

Rezonans in Varna

I know that it has been a very long break!
But after all that ı've been through, I needed this pause. I needed to stop, to think and digest all that I have seen, lived and felt.
This season, this winter, spring and summer has been a fantastic time in my life. I've learned so much, grown even stronger and learned to deal with my shorthcomings as a new chorist. But the path is a long one if I am determined to stay on this course. Time will tell!

Varna Competition!
Such a great experience! A good way to test yourself on international arena. To get to know yourself better under the spotlights. And better than anything else, getting in touch with other choirs, with other traditions, with other systems.
What I've learned from this competition is hard work always pays off and amateur doesn't mean un-professional!

My friends Eren and Arda are on stage waving our flag

Rezonans Mixed Choir is on stage

I watched with great admiration two choirs from Philippines, Imusicapella Chamber Choir and The Philippines Meistersingers!

They were absolutely great, they won great prizes and I thought they absolutely deserved all prizes.


Later on, I started to read about them and found out that they sing all over Europe, in festivals, in cultural weeks etc. And not only Europe! USA, Washington DC, Kennedy Center! I wouldn't call them amatuers at all! And hey! What's the definition of amateur anyway? But still, I am happy that they were there so I, once again, realized that performing music is an amazing adventure and it can take you anywhere!

Our young and very talented maestro, Burak Onur Erdem, received a special prize. It has a long name so I'll do copy/paste:

Special prize awarded by the Bulgarian choral union for choir with brightest creative achievement of the Competition

We had our won bus thanks to our sponsor, FEST TRAVEL

After Varna, we came back to out own territory and the next weekend we sang in İzmir, at the Mozart Academy Choirs Festival to close our season. It was another delightful experience.

On our way to İzmir

At the back of our bus in İzmir, thanking our sponsor Fest Travel

And as the title for this post I wrote ''End of Season'' but I don't think that it will be a long break because fist of all, next weekend we have our general assembly to discuss about this year and about the future plans...

At the end of July, we'll go to Talinn for Europa Cantat Festival.

And our maestro said that the rehearsals are going to start at the second half of September... So surely it's not the end of anything, it's just a little break! For which I am very happy anyway!

See you soon!

Next Two Days

Today I have been thinking a lot:
What a wonderful winter and spring was this year!
Winter was a ''full time preparation'' period whereas spring has been and still is a time for sharing what we've prepared. What a joy! And an even better summer is just around the corner... With EUROPA CANTAT, the biggest choral event of Europe.

And this weekend:
Tomorrow: SANSEV International Choirs Festival. We're on stage!

After tomorrow (Sunday): Open Rehearsal... We'll host our audience in the very place where we regularly perform our rehearsals. In Istanbul Technical University's Maçka building is the center for advanced studies in music. On top floor there is Usmanbaş Hall which takes its name from İlhan Usmanbaş, one of the leading composers of our music history. And there, in that hall, we are going to perform our rehearsal, in front of an audience, interested in attending this interesting experience. I love attending rehearsals of especially orchestras.  I did it many times! It's very interesting... When I was in high school, I used to skip school and go to the rehearsal of Istanbul State Orchestra. Since then, I did this in different orchestras as well... Such as New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Symphonic Orchestra... It's such a wonderful experience... Of course I have NEVER attended ANY choir rehearsal as a listener... I think there are many affinities between the two...Choirs and orchestras...

News from my progress:
I think I memorized Zvedvi of Emil Tabakov. I think! Not sure yet... I keep forgetting some syllables in the middle part of the song. It's like a tongue twister, I swear!

6th SANSEV Istanbul Polyphonic Choirs Festival

Things are moving fast!

We are almost ready for the next adventure, 6th SANSEV Polyphonic Choirs Festival, which is going to take place in TÜRKAN SAYLAN CULTURAL CENTER, in Maltepe, next week. This is an important event for our choral world here in Turkey. Many choirs from different cities and backgrounds come on stage and sing in front of a significant audience. And sometimes this is the first ''on stage'' experience for some of them. I strongly think that, the mission of the festivals, is to give the opportunity to those new/young/amateur choirs to step on stage and sing with an audience. Because singing on stage is a whole new dimension, a way of testing yourself and your abilities, to get to know yourself better and eventually overcome your shortcomings.

If you want to learn more about the festival, here is the link:
https://sansevfest.com/istkorofest-en/


Mrs. Nursel Öncül, SANSEV Association President says:
We are joyfull, excited, hopeful and proud to carry the 6th SANSEV Istanbul Polyphonic Chorus Festival that we are organizing to an international dimension.

So I extend my congratulations and appreciation to her and to the committee...

Next weekend, we will be on stage, on Saturday 5th, at 19.45...

Our maestro is thinking about an open rehearsal on Sunday too. I'll post here when things are fixed.

Bye for now...

After the Concert

Woowww!
What a concert!
What a programme!
16 songs, from renaissance to our days!
Very nice experience and definitely a kind of power test!
And we did it!
We AND the audience DID it!

I don't know where to start from...

Our maestro wanted us to be ready at the Church of Santa Maria Draperis at 14.30 for one last rehearsal. Then news were updated, the chamber choir at that hour and the mixed choir at 15.15... So I went there at 15.00ish... The Chamber was on stage singing... Hearing them, I remembered the first time I heard them singing in St. Esprit Cathedral, in Istanbul. Oh boy!!! That was love at fist sight! That concert of some years ago is THE reason why I am here now! That's the reason of my hard work, my sweat and tears:))

Then came our time and our maestro invited all to the stage. First, where to stand, how to get positioned on stage, what to do and not to do etc... All the things that now come so natural to me but were so intimidating at the beginning. We started to sing, the church was open to public so we had some visitors, an on spot audience... People came in curiously, sat on the benches in silence, looking astonished with this unexpected extra within the church. Even little kids were unnaturally quite, while we were singing the most unusual songs for the present audience, yet they seemed happy.

After the rehearsal, we had some time off and I went out to have a cup of coffee with some of the girls. Coffee turned into avocado salad and tea...

The concert was to start at 18.00. We started at 18.06, needed to wait for some minutes for the audience to calm down and concentrate. Then we walked on stage with a welcoming applause and I, being very excited as always, forgot to stand towards the audience as our maestro said during the last rehearsal. Thanks GOD, my dear Güneş just next to me and always very careful about every detail, started to whisper into my ear ''to the audience, to the audience''. And I slowly got into the right position. BUT, in the second part of the concert, I did it AGAIN!!!! Am I stupid or what?!

It was very successful except (according to me) one song, the famous Zvezdi of Tabakov. I told you before, it's NOT an easy peasy! We will have more practice in the next weeks and we MUST learn that song perfectly.  And I can assure you, we will master the song before we start our journey to Varna.

It was an important evening too because we had a representative of our transportation sponsor, Fest Travel, as one of our VIP guests. She was soo happy at the end, with tears in her beautiful eyes, repeating '' wonderful, wonderful, I never thought that music could make feel what I felt this evening''. I didn't have the courage to ask what she felt, because sometimes words are not enough to describe certain things. I simply left it unspoken, still knowing deep inside what she meant. And here she is:

And we also had guests from another possible sponsor and after the concert, they gave us a really BIG hug! They were so impressed by what they saw there. They too said: We were NOT expecting to see such thing!

And I had my Portuguese class students there as my personal guests, and they were very nice with the flowers and a special gift! But the real gift to me was their presence there... And here they are:

After the concert, my dear husband took me and our niece to dinner, which was very nice... And this is my beautiful niece:

Overall, when I came back home, I was a tired but a very very happy chorist!

Getting Ready for Tomorrow's Concert

I am home, at my desk, working on the pieces that we are going to sing tomorrow, during our concert which is going to take place in one of the historic churches of İstanbul.  (That was a long sentence!)
OK!
Once more:
Tomorrow we have a concert...
Where?
In a beautiful Catholic Church, called Santa Maria Draperis.
What are we going to sing?
That's a good question: The programme is a world tour in 60 minutes!
From Brasil to Bulgaria, from Turkey to Renaissance Italy!
We will sing the repertoire that we have been preparing for Varna Grand Prix and this is going to be a good test for us. Generally the concerts are a good way to see if you are ready or not. (This is how I started to feel about them). Because as I said in one of my previous post, you are never sure of yourself until you sing in front of the audience.
Since yesterday, I shut myself in and worked on two difficult pieces day and night. Well, not night! Let's just say, whole day! And I still CAN NOT sing them properly. I think I'll do playback:)) and please let's keep this reality between us!
On the other hand, as my husband keeps telling me, these challenges are good for me because this is how I reach beyond my limits, how I get better and better every day, how I grow and learn. And this is like the sum of life!
Life is reaching beyond your limits,
Life is learning,
Life is growing,
Life is trying to be a better version of yourself, every day and with every challenge that come your way.
Life is sharing what you learn and the concerts are just a stage for sharing what you've learned.
This is why, I love to sing.
It gives me the sense of success, the sense of unity with my friends in the choir, being fully present in the moment and putting whatever you've got in you out there, sharing your inner power with the audience and the world.
Do you think that is a little too exaggerated?
Try to sing in MY choir, then you'll know what I mean!
We have a rehearsal this evening and soon the truth will reveal itself:
Can I do it or NOT?

After Sunday Rehearsal

Salt Galata, one of our rehearsal places 

Sometimes I honestly think: What am I doing here? What am I doing in this wonderful choir? Where does my senseless courage come from? It must be, surely, from my ignorance that makes me think as long I work hard, there is nothing I can NOT do! But obviously there ARE things that I can NOT do, such as learning pieces like Tabakov's Zvezdi and Yeniden of Turkish composer Hasan Uçarsu, in just two rehearsals! I was overwhelmed, breathless and exhausted on my way home, after the rehearsal. With all those pieces still resonating in my head...

Now I have a full week to seriously work by myself, at home, with my faithfull computer and garage band app!

By the way, this is how my choir sang the Hasan Uçarsu's song... It is challenging but once you are confident of yourself, there is no greater joy than singing these pieces with all the energy and rhythm.

During one of our rehearsals in Salt Galata

So, bye for now...
I must go to AÇIK RADYO, to record my future shows:))
Have a happy week!

Getting Ready for Sunday's Rehearsal

News arrived today from our maestro: Prepare the Bulgarian songs! WE'll work (especially) on them!

OK!
Now I have to get ready to sing in Bulgarian, a song that has a really brisk tempo! And how was I so far? Not so good! At least, I don't feel that I am ready to do it (yet)...

Look how a choir from Phillippines sang this song:

I am really sorry for my dear sopranos! They have a very hard job to do.

Now I have to go, see you soon:))

Next Concert and Some Thoughts

Hello,
This is the announcement of our next concert:))
Translation:
Church of Santa Maria
April 21st,  18.00
And of course, Istanbul.


OK!
Ready?
Well, not that much! Still struggling with some pieces such as Kasar Mie La Gaji of Alberto Grau and Zvezdi of Emil Tabakov. But somehow, I am confident that even these pieces will come together by the time of the concert. It always happens this way.
You can never be sure if you dominate the piece until you perform it in front of the audience. Well at least, it happens this way with me! But once you are there, on stage, something miraculous happens and with the start of your maestro, you start to sing. And you realize that, you actually master the piece. All the hard work that you have been through, pays off. Such a wonderful feeling!

And one more thing:
When I am hesitant, I simply surrender to the common sense of the choir. I remain in the flow of music and it works... This is like meditating! Being present, being in the moment and being ONE with the WHOLE... This is what singing in a choir teaches you! You are ONE, each of us is a different ONE but the Choir is more than the sum of these ONES!

The Choir is larger than the sum; bigger, stronger and definitely wiser!

First Hello

Hi Everybody!

My name is İKO and this is a blog about my personal experience!
This is a blog about music.
About choral singing.
And about how happy I am singing with the BEST choir of Turkey!
Isn't that statement a little too pretentious? It can sound like that but who cares? Moreover, I strongly believe that it really is (not because I sing in there):))
Anyway, everything started last fall when I courageously decided to try the audition of my choir. (I don't give the name of the choir because nobody knows that I started this blog and I don't know how they would react about it. So I keep it anonymous) As a matter of fact, last year I sang with them too in a project choir, with a larger number of chorists. We did a fantastic year of German Romantics... But that was a kind of temporary formation and at the end of the year, that was it, the choir was gone! There was always, a core, since 2010, as a permanent choir... I know it is a little too long to explain it. I try to put it in a different way:
I did the audition and now I am in that CORE CHOİR!
How did it happen, I still don't understand because I am very new in all this. But all I can say is that, every rehearsal we do, every concert we give is an incredible experience for me.

Who am I?
Well, I am a woman, living in İstanbul, married (no children), working on different fields with various interests. Such as:

Tour Guide/Tour Manager
Radio Producer
Travel Writer
Poet ( Haiku )
Landscape Photographer
Language Teacher (Portuguese and Italian)
Asemic Writing Artist
Speaker

I earn my life working as a professional tour guide and manager. And I give language lessons... All the rest, is for my pleasure but I can assure you, I work A LOT!

And now I am also an ALTO SINGER! And that takes a lot of my time and energy because I (honestly) am very new in choral singing world. I have my shortcomings (quite some) and in order to keep up with my experienced and very talented choir friends, I MUST work very hard! And I AM!

So in this blog, I will share my choral experience.
Hope you like and read it!

Oh, one more thing: Please ignore the mistakes in my writing, English is NOT my native language and is NOT the only language I speak, read and write...

Bye for now!