A musical celebration of German-Turkish partnership
March 15, 2012
Every year, the Orchestra Campus in Bonn features a youth orchestra from a different country to highlight and promote intercultural exchange. In 2012, all eyes and ears will be on about 100 young musicians of the Turkish National Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Cem Mansur. Echoing the notion of music as an international language, the official slogan of this year's Orchestra Campus music project is bilingual: "Beethoven ile buluşma - Begegnung mit Beethoven", Turkish and German for "An Encounter with Beethoven." "This year's Orchestra Campus underscores the importance of Turkey as a partner country in a changing region of world importance," announced DW Director General Erik Bettermann. He noted that the international youth and music project was recently awarded a distinction as one of Germany's best ideas.
Conveying culture through media and music
The Orchestra Campus is an annual event showcasing youth orchestras from different cultures. This year's German-Turkish partnership will play out in both countries. Workshops and performances in Bonn and Berlin will be preceded by rigorous rehearsals in Turkey and performances at the Istanbul Music Festival. Members of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin will join their young Turkish counterparts for rehearsals there.
The DW Akademie and Istanbul University are jointly hosting a journalism training workshop in which young Turkish journalists specialized in cultural affairs will cover the musical events in the Turkish capital. They will produce video and radio reports as well as an online diary.
Presenting the Beethovenfest to audiences around the world
DW will produce a live recording of the Turkish National Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, along with in-depth TV, online and radio coverage. The concert recording will be available on CD and as a podcast at dw.de/Beethoven. The performance will also be broadcast by DW's partner stations in Turkey. As official media partner to the Beethovenfest Bonn, DW brings exclusive presentations to audiences around the world at dw.de/beethoven, and additionally, in radio reports in German, Turkish, English and other languages and TV coverage in German, English, Arabic and Spanish.
Turkish composer commissioned by DW
The Orchestra Campus project initiated by Deutsche Welle has become an integral part of the Beethovenfest Bonn. A program of intercultural encounter, it conveys Beethoven's humanistic message toward international understanding and peace in a contemporary context. Eleven youth orchestras from around the world have taken part in the initiative since its inception in 2001. It gives musicians from a variety of cultures and backgrounds the unique opportunity to visit the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven and play their music at the festival named after Bonn's most famous son.
As part of the project, DW commissions a composer from each orchestra's home country to compose an original score.
This year that honor went to Mehmet Erhan Tanman, a talented composer and musician born in 1989. His piece "Traffic" will premiere at the Beethovenfest Bonn on September 19 , conducted by Cem Mansur.
The Turkish National Youth Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 2006. It comprises musicians aged 16 to 22 studying at renowned universities and conservatories in Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, Edirne, Eskisehir, Izmir, Istanbul and Mersin. Every summer the orchestra convenes with artistic director Cem Mansur and other music tutors for three weeks of intensive rehearsals at Sabanci University in Istanbul.