Antalya – Friendship Festival at Falez Park
- Written by Portal Editor
Antalya – As the afternoon concert kicked off, a club of mountain bikers and other cycling enthusiasts arrived; they rode noisily into the venue and quickly made themselves at home in Falez Park.
Without wasting many words, Murat Ömür Tuncer opened the musical portion of the event by introducing singer Merve Akyıldız and her band. Born on February 25, 1994 and thus still to be considered a truly young artist Merve Akyıldız lives in the Bornova district of Izmir.
Her grandparents hailed from Macedonia and never quite lost the immigrant experience. Perhaps it is this background that gives Merve Akyıldız’s songs such a profound and moving quality quite apart from her truly magnificent voice.
The performance by the group Acaipademler was another highlight of the event, thanks in no small part to the presence of singer Teoman Kumbaracıbaşı, who is also an actor and soloist.
Many visitors had brought bread, cakes, and various other treats for the evening; in keeping with tradition, these were shared and enjoyed together at the conclusion of the first concert evening.
Early arrivals for the second concert afternoon had already gathered in Antalya when, suddenly, gymnastics hoops were handed out and people were invited to join in the activity.
Some of the images regarding the project that we had displayed attracted keen interest, sparking several engaging conversations about the archaeological sites.
As the sounds of the harp rang out, a sudden, absolute silence fell over the otherwise bustling area of Falez Park. An instrument known for its gentle tones and one that is truly unusual in Turkey demonstrated its powerful effect. The next artist was Doruk Görkem Tokur, a pianist born in Ankara on January 18, 1991, who was taught and inspired by renowned artists such as İdil Biret, Pamela Mia Paul, Stephen Gutman, Daniel Gortler, Kemal Gekic, Misha Dacic, Alexander Madzar, Tamara Poddubnaya, Mikola Suk, Markus Tomas, Bernd Goetzke, Emre Elivar, and Gülsin Onay.
Next came a highly professional performance by Yudum Cetiner and Selin Sekeranber; performing under the name Duo Blanc et Noir, they play the piano together in four-hand arrangements. Hailing from Stuttgart, they participated so successfully in the Lucerne International Music Festival in 2010 that they were invited back the following year.
To conclude the day's concert program, several of the artists gathered on stage for a lively session, delighting the audience with a successful blend of original compositions and familiar tunes.
Beyond the music which itself transcended the typical scope of an open-air event what made this occasion truly exceptional was the way the audience was involved in a wide range of activities her in Antalya.
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