10/19/2006

The Turkish music ensemble, DÜNYA, and special guest artists, the Boston Camerata, will present a concert at 8 p.m. Friday, October 27, 2006, at Suffolk University’s C. Walsh Theatre, located on 55 Temple Street in Boston. 

Entitled European Travelers and the Ottomans, the concert is dedicated to W.A. Mozart on the anniversary of the 250th year of his birth.

As part of the Suffolk University Centennial Partnership Series, this exclusive performance is a dialogue between the music of Europe from the 15th to the 18th centuries and Ottoman Turkish music of the same period, inspired by the notations and accounts of early European travelers. 

The concert culminates in the music of Mozart himself, the most famous of the “alla turca” (Turkish style) composers.  DÜNYA’S Ottoman Janissary Band ensemble, the New England Mehterhane, will play a prominent role in this program.

“Recent world events have stirred an unprecedented curiosity among the American public about the culture and history of the Muslim Middle East,” said Dr. Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, president and music director of DÜNYA.  “This mirrors the mixture of fear and fascination by European people in the 15th and 18th centuries of the military actions of the neighboring Ottoman Empire.”

“We believe that our program will be an inviting but challenging way to bring Ottoman.Turkish art, culture, and history before a modern American audience," said Boston Camerata music director Joel Cohen. 

Tickets for European Travelers and the Ottomans are $20 for general admission and $15 for students and senior citizens. 

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