The Association, hereafter referred to as ASD, was established in 2007 under the leadership of harpist Sirin Pancaroglu. ASD’s principal goal is to further introduce the harp to the Turkish public and widen its use in line with the instrument’s historical counterpart-the çeng- and the contemporary musical culture of Turkey. In parallel with this local focus, the ASD observes the intercultural aspe
ct of the harp as a uniting force between cultures. While it envisions to support a local manufacture of harps and of the historical çeng, it has already undertaken projects to foster new music inspired by local musical culture. It is founded to offer support and infrastructure to professional Turkish harpists and students and help carry their achievements to professionals platforms in Turkey and abroad. To achieve its purposes the ASD forms alliances with government agencies, private sector and other non-governmental organizations. In 2009 ASD has realized its first projects. Prompted by the sudden death of member and prominent Turkish harpist Ceren Necipoglu at a plane crash in 2009 several events were inspired by her legacy and therefore dedicated to her. A series of memorial events took place first at the International Gümüşlük Classical Music Festival in Bodrum and later in 2010 at the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall in Istanbul. Recordings of the late Necipoglu were gathered and released as a double album as part of the Istanbul event with the second CD recorded by students and colleagues as an hommage, all under the title Bir Kitap Gibi-Ceren Necipoğlu (Like a Book-Ceren Necipoğlu) on the Turkish Kalan label. The release was made possible by a grant of the Yapi Kredi Bank. In 2010 when Istanbul was chosen as the European Capital of Culture, the ASD has carried out an nine-month long project titled “In Tune with the Harp!” dedicated to the memory of Ceren. Funded by the Istanbul European Capital of Culture Agency, the ASD produced fifteen concerts and ten masterclasses of world-renowned harpists who are representatives of different musical traditions. Activities were held in a variety of settings from schools, to palaces, to concert halls small and big throughout the city with most of them free to the public. The project ended with a week-long event, the 1st Istanbul International Harp Encounter which featured harpists Andrew Lawrence-King (UK), Isabelle Moretti (FR), Helene Breschand (FR), Maire Ni Chathasaigh (IR) and Arianna Savall (SP). It was received as a vibrant festival in the city. To celebrate Istanbul with music in 2010, the ASD remained in line with its dedication to foster new music with ties to the local musical culture and commissioned six Turkish composers to write for the harp. Hasan Uçarsu, Ozkan Manav, Baris Perker, Turgay Erdener, Arda Ardases Agosyan and Mahir Cetiz were chosen for this collaborative effort. Aptly titled Istanbul’un Ses Telleri (Harmonies of Istanbul) the project culminated in six world premieres given in a single concert at the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall and the release of a CD with an elaborate essay by Ateş Orga and Istanbul photography by Utku Dervent.
2011 saw another memorial concert for Ceren, this time during the 11th World Harp Congress in Canada, realized by the ASD, gathering Ceren’s colleagues and friends from different parts of the world in an emotionally charged concert. A grant from the Promotion Fund of the Prime Ministry made it possible to organize this concert as well as ASD exhibiting during the congress. The exhibit was the first display ever of recordings of Turkish harpists and sheet music of Turkish composers’ works for the harp made available for the international harp community. The ASD supported two innovative projects in 2011. While Elişi (Handicraft) is predominantly improvisational project based on traditional Turkish music of instrumental and vocal origins set for a harp duo and percussion, “Resonating Universes” is a sixty-minute work for the western pedal harp, the celtic harp, the çeng and the electro-harp, commissioned to new music composer Erdem Helvacıoğlu. The projects were respectively released on the Turkish Kalan and the UK Sargasso labels and made possible by the support of the Promotion Fund of the Prime Ministry of the Turkish Republic. An offshoot of the 1st Istanbul International Harp Encounter has been carried out yearly since 2011. Titled “International Harpists in Turkey”, the project features world renowned harpist in Istanbul. In this project Italian harpist Patrizia Tassini and Czech harpist Jana Bouskova have been invited to perform at prestigious Istanbul concert halls and taught masterclasses to young Turkish harpists in ASD organization. Amongst its small membership are harpists, harp students, amateur harpists, friends of the harp from various business sectors. It is operating from a modestly sized office space provided by the Municipality of Beşiktaş in the Ortakoy district of Istanbul. ASD is engaged in volunteer teaching to underpriviliged children, putting on of concerts and educational programmes for school children, performing concerts for earthquake victims and womens’ organizations.
