Tekfen Filarmoni to Take the Stage for a Sustainable Future at the COP31 Climate Summit

The Tekfen Filarmoni Orchestra will give a special concert at the closing of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Antalya. Under the direction of conductor Aziz Shokhakimov, the orchestra, accompanied by soloists Burcu Karadağ (ney) and Aykut Köselerli (percussion), will bring the themes of nature, humanity and sustainability to the stage through the universal language of music.

The concert, to be held on Friday, November 20 at the Gazze Hall of the Yeşil Bölge Nurol Holding Congress Center, will begin at 18:30. At the event, which will bring together leaders, business world representatives, scientists and activists from different countries around the world, attention will be drawn to a sustainable future through the unifying power of music.

At the concert, to be held under the direction of Aziz Shokhakimov, the permanent conductor and artistic director of the Tekfen Filarmoni Orchestra, a special repertoire focusing on the fundamental elements of nature and the human-nature relationship will be performed. In the program, in which Burcu Karadağ and Aykut Köselerli will appear as soloists, the musical union of Eastern and Western instruments will come to the fore.

The themes of “Water, Air, Fire and Renewal” will meet with music

The repertoire specially prepared for COP31 is shaped around the themes of “Water, Air, Fire and Renewal.” The program will open with Bedřich Smetana’s “Vltava (Moldau).” Depicting the flow of the Vltava River from its sources and the life along its banks, the work will reflect, through music, the relationship between water and life.

This will be followed by Fazıl Say’s “Hezarfen” concerto, composed for ney and orchestra. Inspired by the legend of Hezarfen Ahmed Çelebi’s flight across the Bosphorus, the work will represent the program’s air theme with the ney’s sound, brought to life by breath.

The finale of the concert will feature Igor Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite.” Highlighting the themes of fire and transformation, the work will emphasize renewal, hope and faith in a sustainable future.

With the message “Water gives life, air provides breath, and fire leads transformation,” the program aims to draw attention to the relationship between the fundamental elements of nature and sustainability.

About the Tekfen Filarmoni Orchestra

Tekfen Filarmoni, which continues its activities with the support of the Tekfen Foundation, was established in 1992 as an international initiative bringing together musicians from countries bordering the Black Sea. Today, the orchestra continues its work as an international ensemble featuring distinguished artists from different countries around the world.

With its multicultural structure, international concerts, collaborations with prestigious artists and contributions to contemporary music, Tekfen Filarmoni is among Türkiye’s leading cultural and artistic institutions, and since 2017 has aimed to enhance its artistic strength and international visibility under the leadership of its permanent conductor and artistic director Aziz Shokhakimov.