[390]MYSTICAL MIDDLE EAST MUSIC WITH MODERN FLAIR AT MTSU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 10, 2008
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

MYSTICAL MIDDLE EAST MUSIC WITH MODERN FLAIR AT MTSU
World-Renowned Turkish Performer Omar Faruk Tekbilek to Appear in Concert

(MURFREESBORO) – The Middle East Center at Middle Tennessee State University will present Turkish virtuoso Omar Faruk Tekbilek and his ensemble in concert at 2 p.m., Saturday, April 19, in the Keathley University Center Theatre on campus. This event is free and open to the public. Tekbilek and his band will perform traditional Sufi, folk and contemporary music from the Middle East. Their music, while derived from centuries-old sounds, is influenced by modern music, resulting in a mystical, spiritual sound that has entertained and intrigued people of many countries and cultures. Of Tekbilek’s work, a reviewer for the Sydney Morning Herald wrote, “He sings mournful songs in a thick, horn-like voice, heavy with ritualized lament and evoking the ancient chants that fed East and West.” Tekbilek is the recipient of the 2003 “Best Artist of the Turkish Music Awards” from the Turkish Writers Association and the U.S. Golden Belly “Musician of the Year” award in 1998 and again in 1999. The master of a variety of instruments, Tekbilek plays the ney (bamboo flute), zuma (double-reed buzzing oboe), baglama (long-necked lute), oud (classic lute) and numerous percussion pieces. He is accompanied by Hasan Isikkut on kanun (string instrument similar to a zither), Chris Rosser on keyboards, and River Guerguerian and Murat Tekbilek on percussion. For more information, contact Dr. Allen Hibbard, director of the Middle East Center, at 615-494-7906 or at ahibbard@mtsu.edu. To hear samples of Tekbilek’s music or for more information about him, go to http://www.omarfaruktekbilek.com.


--30—


ATTENTION, MEDIA: For color jpegs of Omar Faruk Tekbilek, contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.