Aydın Gün Award goes to young marimbist

ISTANBUL

Awarded every year since 2012 by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) to promising young Turkish classical musicians, the Aydın Gün Encouragement Award has been granted to 21-year-old marimbist Elman Mecid on its fifth year.

Mecid, the winner of the Aydın Gün Encouragement Award and 15,000 Turkish Liras, was born to a musician family in Ankara in 1996. He started his musical training with piano as Gülnara Aziz’s student at Bilkent University’s Faculty of Music and Performing Arts Music Preparatory Primary School and continued with percussion since 2006 as Aydın Mecid’s student. 

He currently studies at Hamburg University of Music and Theatre with Cornelia Monske. 

He won the first prize in his own category at the Pendim International Percussion Competition (Bulgaria) in 2009, fourth at the Nutcracker International Young Talents Competition (Russia) in 2009, first and third prizes in group A at the 8th International Giornate della Percussione Competition (Italy) in 2010, second place at 2011 Perkulliria 4th International Percussion Competition (Spain), and first prize and the Special Jury Prize at 4th Marimba Competition (Germany) in 2012. Elman Mecid, who has been performing in various concerts at home and abroad both as an orchestra member and a soloist throughout his student life, has also been performing as a supporting artist with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra since 2015.

The Aydın Gün Encouragement Awards are granted to applicants in the fields of instrument, voice, composition or conducting. The selection committee is led by İKSV General Director Görgün Taner, and consists of conductor and State Artist Rengim Gökmen, State Opera and Ballet Director Yekta Kara, violinist Cihat Aşkın, Borusan Sanat General Manager Ahmet Erenli and Istanbul Music Festival Director Yeşim Gürer Oymak.