Armenian musicians to perform in Istanbul

PanARMENIAN.Net - Aynur Doğan, one of the most popular representatives of Kurdish culture and music in Turkey, will skip an appearance scheduled for this week in Istanbul with the ethnic music ensemble Kardeş Türküler for health-related reasons, the ensemble announced.

The concert, titled “Yeni Bir Gün” (A New Day), is scheduled for the night of September 14 at the Cemil Topuzlu Open-air Theater in Harbiye, Today’s Zaman reported.

The singer, who only goes by her first name, has “regretfully explained that she would not be able to join” the glittering musical get-together that will also see guest appearances by singer/songwriter Sezen Aksu, Armenian-Turkish songwriter/percussionist Arto Tunçboyacıyan and Armenian-American composer/musician Ara Dinkjian, according to a written statement by Kardeş Türküler. The statement did not further elaborate on Doğan’s health.

Aynur was going to be a major highlight of the concert, which was going to be her first live concert appearance since mid-July, when she was booed by an audience and forced to leave the stage after singing a song in Kurdish at a concert as part of this year’s Istanbul Jazz Festival. Aynur’s guest appearance at this week’s concert was, in a way, to serve as a “completion” for her jazz fest appearance in July, which was also at the Cemil Topuzlu theater.