Saturday, December 09, 2006

Music bridges all cultures

By Nicholas Rys - Penn State Digital Collegian - University Park,PA,USA
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006

Tonight Sufi musician Omar Faruk Tekbile and his ensemble will be performing a concert of traditional Sufi and contemporary music from the Middle East.
Sufi music is a term for any type of music that connects to the heart and transcends religious and spiritual boundaries.

The Dialog Forum, a Penn State student organization whose mission is to create a "dialog" between interfaith and intercultural students, decided to seek out the globally known musician after hearing about a Tekbile's performance at Boston University, Dialog Forum President Isa Hafalir said.

Tekbilek's manager, Ofer Ziv, said Tekbile was attracted to the group's dedication toward issues of intercultural and interfaith tolerance.
"Music bridges all cultures," Ziv said.

Tekbile is a man of serious faith - when performing professionally as a young man Omar also studied religion and considered becoming a cleric, or "Imam."
Tekbilek's background as a musician is equally serious. He began playing music when he was 8 years old. By the time he was twelve he was playing professionally, and by sixteen he and his brother spent the next decade as session musicians in Istanbul.

More recently Tekbilek has been recognized for his talents in 2003 as the recipient of the "Best Artist-Turkish Music Award" from the Turkish Writers Association. He also was the recipient of the US Golden Belly Musician-Of-The-Year-Award in 1998 and again in 1999.

Currently, Tekbilek and company are playing concerts all over the world, Ziv said playing at colleges is always a nice change of pace.
"Universities are nice because they're a different crowd who may have never experienced this kind of music," he said.

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Saturday, December 09, 2006

Music bridges all cultures
By Nicholas Rys - Penn State Digital Collegian - University Park,PA,USA
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006

Tonight Sufi musician Omar Faruk Tekbile and his ensemble will be performing a concert of traditional Sufi and contemporary music from the Middle East.
Sufi music is a term for any type of music that connects to the heart and transcends religious and spiritual boundaries.

The Dialog Forum, a Penn State student organization whose mission is to create a "dialog" between interfaith and intercultural students, decided to seek out the globally known musician after hearing about a Tekbile's performance at Boston University, Dialog Forum President Isa Hafalir said.

Tekbilek's manager, Ofer Ziv, said Tekbile was attracted to the group's dedication toward issues of intercultural and interfaith tolerance.
"Music bridges all cultures," Ziv said.

Tekbile is a man of serious faith - when performing professionally as a young man Omar also studied religion and considered becoming a cleric, or "Imam."
Tekbilek's background as a musician is equally serious. He began playing music when he was 8 years old. By the time he was twelve he was playing professionally, and by sixteen he and his brother spent the next decade as session musicians in Istanbul.

More recently Tekbilek has been recognized for his talents in 2003 as the recipient of the "Best Artist-Turkish Music Award" from the Turkish Writers Association. He also was the recipient of the US Golden Belly Musician-Of-The-Year-Award in 1998 and again in 1999.

Currently, Tekbilek and company are playing concerts all over the world, Ziv said playing at colleges is always a nice change of pace.
"Universities are nice because they're a different crowd who may have never experienced this kind of music," he said.

No comments: