Performed bilingually and with the use of traditional Turkish instruments as well as classical symphonic instruments, the concert aims to enhance intercultural dialogue and to provide a mutual understanding of the musical spirits of Germans and Turkey. It was always my dream to promote Turkish classical music in Germany, says concert manager Susanne Kolleck, who is quite excited about the project.

Actually, there is a much wider range of Turkish music than many Germans expect, she explains, adding that even among Turks living in Germany it is not very well known that Turkish music has so much going for it. This is a definite gap we want to fill, she adds. Furthermore, she says, the concert aims to highlight the surprisingly common roots between German and Turkish musical culture.

Therefore, the orchestra includes instruments that are considered classically Western as well as traditional Turkish instruments. Saxophones of different sizes — including the small sopranino saxophone — violins, oboes, piccolo-clarinets and xylophones play together with the mey (a woodwind instrument of Armenian origin and one of the ancestors of the saxophone) and baДџlama (a long lute from the eastern Mediterranean coast).

Completing the multicultural picture, this eclectic mix of instruments will accompany one another in two musical pieces of Senegalese origin: Tuba and Back. Most people are extremely surprised when they hear the beautiful harmony of such different instruments playing together, Kolleck observes.