Sharing culture at a video conference
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Anatolia News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 09, 2009 00:00
NEW YORK- The 'Global Encounters,' which is a cultural exchange program, brings high school students from Istanbul and New York together through video conferencing to learn about the music and culture of each other’s countries. The latest conference was held Tuesday
Thanks to video-conferencing technology, American students in New York and Turkish students in Istanbul were able to listen to music from each other’s countries simultaneously as part of a cultural-exchange program.
The New York event was organized at Zankel Hall, one of three stages at the city’s famous Carnegie Hall, with the participation of students from local schools, the famous Turkish clarinet artist Selim Sesler and the New York Gypsy All-Stars. The one in Istanbul took place at Bosphorus University’s Garanti Culture Center and hosted Turkish students and the American jazz band the Maurice Brown Effect.
The "Global Encounters" program, which has been conducted for two years by the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall, enabled a total of 650 students from Istanbul and New York to share a mutual experience focused on common characteristics of the two countries’ music. The students were able to ask questions to each other during the program and also watched short films about the daily lives of Turkish and American students.
Trans-cultural promotion and sharing
The Istanbul Consul General in New York, Mehmet Samsar, said Carnegie Hall, the U.S. Department of State, the Istanbul Consulate General to the U.S. and the New York Consulate General in Istanbul all collaborated to support the program.
Samsar said the program aims at creating ties between schools in the two countries and promoting their respective cultures. "Turkish artists gave concerts in the U.S. and U.S. artists gave concerts in Turkey over two years thanks to the program," he said. "Schools in New York were informed about Turkey, and students of both countries still communicate with each other through the Internet." Samsar said the program was very useful and that he hoped it would establish a very important cultural bridge between the two countries. He added that Carnegie Hall had invited U.S. President Barack Obama to attend the event in Istanbul during his visit there this week, but his heavy schedule did not allow it.
Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, clarinet artist Sesler said Turkish music was appreciated in the United States and that he had performed in Istanbul last December as part of the same program. He said he would continue to give concerts in the U.S. to promote Turkey.
Combining music
Macedonian clarinet artist Ismail Lumanovski, with the New York Gypsy All-Stars, said the band really enjoyed combining Turkish music with jazz rhythms.
Weill Music Institute Director Sarah Johnson said teaching students in New York schools about world music was very important, and that the program had made them highly informed about Turkish music and culture.
American teacher Maureen Kenney said students in her Repertory Company High School class studied Turkish literature and poetry, as well as Sufi music. Turkish artists have also visited their school, she added.
According to American student Lizbeth Rojas, Obama’s visit to Turkey at the same time as the program was a very nice coincidence. She said she listened to Turkish music and was pleased to know that Turkish students were listening to American musicians.
Students from nine schools in New York’s Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens boroughs attended the program. The Turkish participants were from Istanbul Atatürk Anatolian High School, Kadıköy and Şehremini Anatolian High Schools and the Terakki Foundation schools.
A similar event took place last year on Dec. 16, also hosting Sesler and the Maurice Brown Effect.
The New York event was organized at Zankel Hall, one of three stages at the city’s famous Carnegie Hall, with the participation of students from local schools, the famous Turkish clarinet artist Selim Sesler and the New York Gypsy All-Stars. The one in Istanbul took place at Bosphorus University’s Garanti Culture Center and hosted Turkish students and the American jazz band the Maurice Brown Effect.
The "Global Encounters" program, which has been conducted for two years by the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall, enabled a total of 650 students from Istanbul and New York to share a mutual experience focused on common characteristics of the two countries’ music. The students were able to ask questions to each other during the program and also watched short films about the daily lives of Turkish and American students.
Trans-cultural promotion and sharing
The Istanbul Consul General in New York, Mehmet Samsar, said Carnegie Hall, the U.S. Department of State, the Istanbul Consulate General to the U.S. and the New York Consulate General in Istanbul all collaborated to support the program.
Samsar said the program aims at creating ties between schools in the two countries and promoting their respective cultures. "Turkish artists gave concerts in the U.S. and U.S. artists gave concerts in Turkey over two years thanks to the program," he said. "Schools in New York were informed about Turkey, and students of both countries still communicate with each other through the Internet." Samsar said the program was very useful and that he hoped it would establish a very important cultural bridge between the two countries. He added that Carnegie Hall had invited U.S. President Barack Obama to attend the event in Istanbul during his visit there this week, but his heavy schedule did not allow it.
Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, clarinet artist Sesler said Turkish music was appreciated in the United States and that he had performed in Istanbul last December as part of the same program. He said he would continue to give concerts in the U.S. to promote Turkey.
Combining music
Macedonian clarinet artist Ismail Lumanovski, with the New York Gypsy All-Stars, said the band really enjoyed combining Turkish music with jazz rhythms.
Weill Music Institute Director Sarah Johnson said teaching students in New York schools about world music was very important, and that the program had made them highly informed about Turkish music and culture.
American teacher Maureen Kenney said students in her Repertory Company High School class studied Turkish literature and poetry, as well as Sufi music. Turkish artists have also visited their school, she added.
According to American student Lizbeth Rojas, Obama’s visit to Turkey at the same time as the program was a very nice coincidence. She said she listened to Turkish music and was pleased to know that Turkish students were listening to American musicians.
Students from nine schools in New York’s Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens boroughs attended the program. The Turkish participants were from Istanbul Atatürk Anatolian High School, Kadıköy and Şehremini Anatolian High Schools and the Terakki Foundation schools.
A similar event took place last year on Dec. 16, also hosting Sesler and the Maurice Brown Effect.