Measures

As part of “New Sounds”, a musical project inspired by Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation collections, the composition “Measures” by Şirin Pancaroğlu and Bora Uymaz presents instrumental music inspired by the names of weight and length measures, as well as improvised performances accompanying poetry composed by divan and folk poets on the subject. The electronic sound design created by Erdem Helvacıoğlu consists of old recordings and will be re-enacting settings where measures intersect with daily life, such as trading.

Composition

Şirin Pancaroğlu & Bora Uymaz

Electronic Sound Design

Erdem Helvacıoğlu

Concert Program

Justice
Two dirhams and a sunflower seed (spick and span)
Oka
Libra
Gold and seng
Scales
Yard by yard
Endaze
Fifty dirhams

Musicians

Şirin Pancaroğlu, harp
Bora Uymaz, vocals and frame drum
Mehmet Bitmez, oud

About Şirin Pancaroğlu

Born in 1968 in Ankara, Şirin Pancaroğlu graduated from the Geneva Conservatory in Europe and went on to study at Indiana University in USA where she obtained her MA degree at the Jacobs School of Music, under the supervision of the world-renown professor Susann McDonald. Since 1988, she has released her recordings String of Longing, Under the Shooting Star, Barokarp, Old World – New World, Telveten, Harmonies of Istanbul, Handicraft, Resonating Universes, Çengnağme, Cafe Tango and Eternal Love in Turkey and abroad. She has performed in concerts in all international festivals in Turkey, as well in different venues around the world; she acted as a jury member in international harp competitions.

Pancaroğlu founded the Association for the Art of the Harp in 2007 with the aim of introducing her instrument to a wider audience in Turkey and spreading its use. Pancaroğlu worked as an academic for some time, and also as a teacher to children and adults for many years. She shared her accumulated knowledge and experience with readers in essays on music she published in various professional journals and newspapers. Pancaroğlu is a member of the board of the World Harp Congress.

About Bora Uymaz

Boraz Uymaz was admitted to the Ege University Turkish Music Conservatory in 1994 in first place and graduated in 1999 with great success. During his education he worked with such reputable musicians as Cinuçen Tanrıkorur, Akın Özkan, Vefik Ataç and Rehâ Sağbaş. Uymaz was already a fully-fledged composer, singer and tanbur performer when he passed the exam and was appointed to the Bursa State Classical Turkish Music Choir in 2000. He completed his Master’s degree at the Dokuz Eylül University Department of Turkish Religious Music. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at the same institution.

Uymaz performs as a soloist at the İzmir State Classical Turkish Music Choir. In 2014-2016 he was the musical director and soloist of a show on mystical music from Turkey, aired weekly on TRT Nağme and titled “Aşk-u Muhabbet.” He has been collaborating with harpist Şirin Pancaroğlu on various projects since 2013.

About Erdem Helvacıoğlu

Erdem Helvacıoğlu is a world-famous film and electroacoustic music composer. He has worked with directors such as Ümit Ünal, Melisa Önel, Belma Baş, Ömür Atay, Sefa Öztürk, Peter Sasowsky, Eileen Hofer, Luli Bitri, Hani Saqr, Ece Soydam, Sinan Kesova, and Aslıhan Ünaldı and composed music for dozens of feature-length documentaries, fiction and short films. He participated in international festivals such as Rotterdam, Locarno, Istanbul, Berlin and Cannes with his film scores. His soundtrack for Poyraz directed by Belma Baş was included in the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival.

13 of his solo and duo albums released by prestigious record companies such as New Albion, Sub Rosa and Innova were chosen “the album of the year” by various music magazines including All About Jazz, Guitar Player, Textura, Cyclic Defrost, Culture Catch, Exclaim! and Perfect Sound Forever. Helvacıoğlu’s electroacoustic music won awards in competitions such as Luigi Russolo, MUSICA NOVA and Insulae Electronicae Electroacoustic Music. He worked as a music producer, remixer and sound engineer for artists and bands such as Gorillaz, AronChupa, Nina Persson, Sezen Aksu, Vega, Rashit, Timuçin Esen, Mehmet Akbaş, and Şirin Soysal. Helvacıoğlu continues to work in his studio

Related Project