Ahmed Adnan Saygun

Art lovers in Turkey's gateway to the Aegean will have the opportunity to enjoy more than a month of concerts come June thanks to the 31st International İzmir Festival.

The 34th Ankara Music Festival, organized by the Sevda-Cenap And Music Foundation, kicked off on April 4 with a concert by the Presidential Symphony Orchestra (CSO) at the MEB Şura Hall in Ankara. 

To mark the 110th birth year of late composer Ahmet Adnan Saygun, who served as an adviser to the foundation's executive board, the orchestra played his "Ayin Raksı" piece.  

Istanbul's Cemal Re?it Rey Concert (CRR) Hall will host a very special classical music feast with the brilliant Turkish Y?ld?zlar Toplulu?u Orchestra tonight. 

Turkey?s May 19 Youth and Sports Day was been marked by a huge crowds in the capital Ankara, as a concert took place at the ?An?tkabir? mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk for the first time in 17 years, in coordination with the mausoleum?s military command.

An?tkabir was open until midnight on May 19 for the concert, attracting large crowds.

The Hacettepe University International Bartok Music Festival and Symposium will be held between April 24 and 30 in Ankara.

?zmir has launched a bid to boost its cultural life with a new music festival organized under the name of a famous pianist, the late Ahmet Adnan Saygun. Organized by the ?zmir Metropolitan Municipality, the Saygun Music Festival, which kicked off Feb. 2, will continue until Feb. 9 at the Ahmet Adnan Saygun Arts Center. 

The 28th International Ä°zmir Festival, organized by the Ä°zmir Foundation for Culture and Arts, will end on Sept. 3 with a concert by French-American cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The cellist, who has won 17 Grammy awards over the course of his career and who currently serves as an EU peace envoy, will be accompanied by the Silk Road Ensemble.

The 42nd Istanbul Music Festival, organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), opened June 1 with a ceremony at the Lütfi Kırdar Congress and Exhibition Hall. For the opening, the Borusan Children’s Choir, under the baton of Gürsen Yavuzkal, performed a short concert. İKSV President Bülent Eczacıbaşı presented the contributors to the festival with plaques.