A view of CineMoon Ensemble concert in Türkiye.
Doha: CineMoon Ensemble, a member of Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (QPO)’s series of concerts in Türkiye has been a success and a big hit among the locals and tourists.
There are five concerts which were conducted: Mozart: A Musical Sitcom; Unravel, Broadway’Den Esintiler, all three were held in Kervansaray; and From Vivaldi to Mozart, CineMoon Ensemble feat Lionel Schmit (French violinist), was held in Güvercinada. Giovanni Pasini was the conductor of the concerts. A special collaboration was also held with Italian jazz band, Sardinia Crossing Jazz Ensemble and Musica E Cultura, and renowned pianist and composer Andrea Granitzio.
CineMoon Ensemble’s Founder and Director, Merve Kenet Bulun told The Peninsula that the four concerts were a major success. “We are very happy that we were invited to Türkiye by KUSAV, which is an art foundation focused on unique art projects. We are very proud that we could introduce our special programmes which we created and performed in Qatar to Turkish audience.”
Speaking about choosing Türkiye as the venue for the event, she said, “Türkiye is the reason of my existence and my homeland. I always wanted to bring CineMoon Ensemble to Kusadasi – a city like a beautiful mosaic of culture. And I am so thankful that KUSAV Foundation chose and sponsored us in their summer concerts festival.”
CineMoon Ensemble also performed the world premiere of Bulun’s first animation which is about Turkish March. It is written and directed by her, animated by Abdullah Eldasuki and illustrated by Esra Eren Cimen. It was played live by the CineMoon Ensemble and pianist Alexander Mekaev.
The CineMoon Founder and Director emphasised that all concerts were performed at ancient places. The first three concerts were held at Kervansaray, she said that “it was a special feeling to perform in these buildings because it matched to our programme.”
Mozart: A Musical Sitcom was also conducted in Qatar back in 2019, it s a fun concert, and a unique project with costumes from 18th century and historical characters from Mozart’s lifetime. The “Unravel” concert is QPO’s first musical and visual arts performance held May this year. The project was led by former QPO member Mariya Medvedeva who moved to Switzerland. “We have had a theatrical moderation , paintings , music and accompanied a video showing the calm beauty of Qatari desert. It was a very special concert in an ancient place,” explained Bulun on the “Unravel” concert.
Moreover, Bulun explained that one of the greatest of all the five concerts was when they played Broadway and the Film Music concert with a 12-year old drum player, Paul Gette – a student of Qatar Music Academy, who is also a son of two musicians from QPO. “It was such an emotional situation. He played so well like a very good musician and the audience was captivated by him.” The Broadway programme was the very first electronic instrument Theremin, which was invented around a hundred years ago was introduced to the audience by Anca Bold Martin. "It was a special moment too because the instrument is played only with electromagnetic energy," she explained.
She said that the concerts were a “cultural exchange.”
All five concerts were held within eight days. CineMoon Ensemble performs yearly concerts and use different art elements. Soprano Olcay Sahin, Tenor Giorgio Martin, Colaratura Soprano Melisa Yenal, Bariton Baran Daloglu and Tina Nijland took part as singers, and Nihal Erpeden and Dilek Qudey were moderators.
“We have had an unforgettable summer. And we are also very proud that we could represent Qatar - our second home abroad. Most importantly, we are musicians originally from France, Russia, Germany , Romania, Turkey, Italy, all living in Qatar and having concerts in Türkiye. What is more beautiful than this? Music unites again,” Bulun said.
