Turkish presidential orchestra opens new concert hall

ANKARA

Turkey’s Presidential Symphony Orchestra (CSO) on Dec. 3 opened a new concert hall in the capital Ankara.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the Presidential Symphony Orchestra building will serve as a symbol of the country’s rich culture and arts.

He said that the new concert hall will become a landmark of the capital. “We have endeavored to embrace all kinds of works that will add value to the cultural and artistic life of our country and increase the diversity in this field,” Erdoğan added.

Also speaking at the opening ceremony, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy stressed the significance of the new concert hall and said the new hall is the largest building ever constructed with a concert hall function in the country.

“The concert halls in the building were designed by world-renowned acoustic experts in accordance with the ‘natural acoustics’ principle and during the construction,” Ersoy noted.

He added that the CSO has not only hosted art performance but also fulfilled an important function for the training of numerous artists and for the society to reach out to a certain level on music.

The hall is located in the heart of the city with a view of the historical Ankara Castle and modern Turkey founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s Mausoleum.

The project was completed at a cost of 83 million euros ($99 million).

It will host the most respected orchestras and soloists from around the world and is set to dazzle art lovers with its concerts on classical music and other genres.

Ticket prices for the 2020-21 Concert Season have been set and are on sale. Guests will pay 100 Turkish liras ($12.85) for the first category, 70 liras ($8.99) for the second, and 50 liras ($6.42) for the third category.

The third category prices will be discounted by 50 percent for students and retirees and for the disabled, veterans, and relatives of soldiers who died while fighting for the nation.