Int’l Gümüşlük Music Festival to host concerts, shows

ISTANBUL

Organized by the Bodrum Classical Music Association, the International Gümüşlük Music Festival will once again present a full program for music lovers for its 19th edition, starting from July 18.

The festival is organized around three concepts every year, which will bring the audience together with the concepts of In Water, On Sand, and In Stone. As in previous years, the festival will meet with art lovers with two concerts at Zefirya Cultural Center in Bitez this year as well.

The concerts titled “In Stone” will take place in the 2,500-year-old quarry, while concerts titled “On Sand” and “In Water” will be held at the festival center. This year, 25 concerts, performances and shows will take place at the International Gümüşlük Music Festival on the Gümüşlük coast.

Spanish pianists Juan Lago and Belen Navarro will perform the official opening concert of the festival on July 18 at the Ancient Stone Quarry.

Concerts by Turkish pianist Gülsin Onay, British pianists Murray McLachlan and Kathryn Page, Macedonian pianist Danica Stojanova, Hungarian violinist Antal Zalai, French cellist Ophelie Gaillard, Israeli jazz pianist Uriel Herman, French jazz trio Nout, DJ Performances by South African Lakuti, Zozo, Q-BRA and Şevval Kılıç will be among this year’s events.

The theatrical show “Under the Castle” will meet with the audience in the Ancient Stone Quarry this year. The play, which was sold out in Istanbul for four years, was highly appreciated by critics.

Another interesting show of the festival will be a circus performance from the Netherlands with the support of the Dutch Embassy and the Istanbul Consulate General. The circus performance “A Grasshopper’s Dream” will take place on Aug. 28 at the festival center on the Gümüşlük coast.

The 19th International Gümüşlük Music Festival will end with a concert that will take place in the Ancient Stone Quarry on Sept. 14. Pianist Onay will participate in the concert as a soloist, with the Bilkent Youth Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductor Işın Metin.

In September, the “Green Life Gümüşlük” events will also be held as part of the festival. There will be workshops, talks and panel discussions for children in the event program.

Gümüşlük Festival Academy (GFA) will open doors for young and talented musicians this year as well. GFA, which has trained around 1,200 domestic and foreign students to date, also provides scholarship opportunities to students or brings them together with supporters. This year, a masterclass program will be held at GFA for younger pianists between July 7 and 10.

The second Piano Masterclass will take place between July 26 and Aug. 6.

Young talents participating in the GFA will give two concerts on July 22 and Aug. 6.

Hungarian musician Antal Zalai and French artist Ophelie Gaillard will also give a Cello Masterclass, between Aug. 16 and 20.