Turkish men's chorus wins award in Varna

The Ankara Polyphony Music Association Men’s Chorus, which is made up of men from various professions, won the fourth prize at the Georgi Dimitrov 30th International Chorus Competition, which was organized last week in Varna, Bulgaria. The chorus drew the attention of jury members with the song 'Mavilim' ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Turkey took home the fourth-place award at the Georgi Dimitrov 30th International Chorus Competition, which was held last week in Varna, Bulgaria. The Ankara Polyphony Music Association Men's Chorus, which performed the song “Mavilim” (My Blue-eyed One), won the award at the competition.

The chorus is made up of Ankara State Opera and Ballet artists Bülent Ateşoğlu, Haser Tek, Murat Akar, Rüzgar Memişoğlu, Yaşar Barış Çark, Özgür Aslan, Ulvi Kahraman and Mustafa Alpaslan; Culture and Tourism Ministry State Polyphony Chorus members Ethem Demir and Erdinç Yargıcı; conservatory students Fatih Ercan and Emrah Sözer; Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine member Professor Fatih Ünal; teacher Serkan Ercan; and two amateur people who are interested in music. The chorus members prepared for the competition for one-and-a-half months.

Third prize missed by one point

“As a men's chorus, we worked with different members for a few times,” said chorus member Memişoğlu. He said the number of similar choruses in Turkey and the world is too low. Noting that the group arranged rehearsals according to their members' free time because they have members from various professions, Memişoğlu said, “This is why we cannot have opportunity for rehearsals from time to time.”

Memişoğlu said because of the limited repertoire available, it was very difficult to establish a men's chorus. “Our repertoire also includes rearrangements of songs like ‘Mavilim' and ‘Üsküdar.' Twelve choruses from various countries have competed at the Georgi Dimitrov 30th International Chorus Competition. ‘Mavilim' was one of the songs that we performed there,” he added.

Jury members applaud the song

Memişoğle noted that jury members liked the song a great deal and congratulated the chorus members after the competition. “We won the fourth award as a result of a four-month effort. Other groups joining the competition are working for months and years. I think it is peculiar to Turks to join a competition at the last minute and win an award,” he said.

Memişoğlu noted that the group missed the third prize by one point, and expressed the happiness of the members, saying, “We missed the third prize, but I believe that we represented our country in the best possible way. The award that we won shows this fact.”

Other chorus member Akar said the chorus joined the competition with its own expectations. He said the chorus expects sponsorship for the next competitions, and added that the group's next goal was to expand its repertoire. Inform,01.07.08