Symphony orchestra appeals for new hall

ADANA - Anadolu Agency

Çukurova Symphony Orchestra was founded on Jan 5, 1992, the anniversary of Adana’s liberation from enemy occupation. Now it needs a more modern hall.

The only symphony orchestra in the eastern Mediterranean, eastern and southeastern Anatolian region, Çukurova Symphony Orchestra (ÇDSO) needs a larger and more modern hall, according to the orchestra’s director, Okan Urşan.

Urşan said the 500-person capacity hall of the Metropolitan Municipality had become insufficient for the orchestra, which was founded on Jan. 5, 1992, the anniversary of Adana’s liberation from enemy occupation. Since its establishment, it had progressed and overcome many difficulties but they were still performing in an inadequate hall, he added.

“When it was founded, ÇDSO had 17-person small artist staff. Now we have 47 regular artists. With our guest artists, we give more concerts with more than 70 artists 32 weeks in a year. World famous conductors and soloists accompany us on the stage but the hall’s capacity is not enough. We can give better performances in a more modern hall rather than performing on a small stage,” he said.

Social projects

Noting that the orchestra had so far performed before 500,000 people, Urşan said that they also introduced classical music and instruments in villages and schools within the scope of social responsibility projects. “We have joined tours in cities like Istanbul, Ankara, Gaziantep, Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa, Mersin, Malatya, Hatay, Nevşehir, Trabzon and countries including Japan, Germany and Syria.

Thanks to the children’s choir of the ÇDSO, hundreds of students enrolled in fine arts high schools and state conservatories. We think that a step will be taken for us to have a better hall,” Urşan concluded.