Omar Faruk Tekbilek, a multi-instrument virtuoso born in Turkey, and his ensemble will perform the first concert of the 2009-2010 World Music Series at the Eastman School of Music on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
The concert, at 8 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall, will feature a range of music from traditional Sufi and folk music to contemporary sounds of the Middle East.
Considered one of the foremost exponents of Middle Eastern music, Tekbilek began playing the kaval, a diatonic flute, when he was eight years old. As he grew up, he mastered other Turkish flute, reed, and lute-like instruments. At 16, he moved to Istanbul, where he worked as a session musician, exploring Turkish, Sufi, Arabic, and Western music styles. By the time he was 20, Tekbilek had made his first tour of the United States, where he met his future wife. In 1976, he relocated to upstate New York to marry her.
Tekbilek is regularly featured at festivals and concert halls around the world, including the Melbourne Festival in Australia, The World Festival of Sacred Music in Los Angeles, Royal Albert Hall and Barbican Centre in London, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York City, and many more. He’s contributed to film and TV scores, has recorded numerous CDs, and has worked with such different musicians as jazz trumpeter Don Cherry, ex-Cream rock drummer Ginger Baker, Arab musician Simon Shaheen, West African singer Youssou N’Dour, and others.
In 2003, Tekbilek received the Turkish Music Award for “Best Artist” and was a nominee for the BBC World Music Award in the Middle East category.
Joining Tekbilek in Kilbourn Hall will be keyboardist Chris Rosser, percussionists River Guerguerian and Murat Tekbilek, guitarist Anthony Mazzella, and Hasa Isakut on the kanun, a zither-like string instrument.
Tickets to the World Series Music concert featuring Tekbilek and his ensemble are $10 to $20, discounts with UR ID, and are available at the Rochester Philharmonic Box Office, 108 East Ave.; by phone (585) 454-2100; or online at esm.rochester.edu/concerts.
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Calendar Listing:
Tuesday, October 13
World Music Series: Omark Faruk Tekbilek and his ensemble
8 p.m.
Kilbourn Hall, 26 Gibbs St.
Tickets: $10 to $20 (discounts with UR and student ID); available at the Rochester Philharmonic Box Office, 108 East Ave.; by phone (585) 454-2100; or online at esm.rochester.edu/concerts