Rudan’s Coffee Break

As part of “New Sounds”, a musical project inspired by Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation collections, the composition titled Rudan’s Coffee Break invites the audience to explore the main character Rudan’s mind, with the inspiration it takes from coffee’s adventure, from the bean to the cup. During the performance the audience witnesses how Rudan, confused and unable to hear his inner voice, turns his coffee break into a ritual. During this journey, Hezarfen Ensemble accompanies the fictional character Rudan with their acoustic performance, and Meriç Artaç with her electronics. Inspired by Pera Museum’s Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics Collection Exhibition Coffee Break, Artaç centralizes the sounds of some objects associated with coffee preparation and service, such as coffee beans, grinder, kettle and coffee cups. The composition takes on a new dimension with the sounds that are heard from Rudan’s radio during his preparation. “We all need a coffee break.”

Musicians

Hezarfen Ensemble
Özcan Ulucan, violin
Ulrich Mertin, viola
Gökhan Bağcı, cello

Meriç Artaç, electronics

About Meriç Artaç

Meriç Artaç was born in Istanbul in 1990. She started her musical education at Istanbul University State Conservatory’s piano department. Upon graduating she studied composition at Rotterdam to study composition. In 2015, she graduated with a Master’s degree in composition with honors. In November 2018, she premiered her opera Madam Koo with Diamantfabriek and AKOM Ensemble in Amsterdam, which will be touring during 2019/2020. In March 2019, her opera Kayra was invited by the University of Guanajuato Symphonic Orchestra (OSUG) premiere in Mexico during Callejón del Ruido festival.

Artaç focuses on composing music for theatre projects and opera. Her interest in multidisciplinary pieces has resulted in collaborations with dance, theatre and film. Her compositions, both acoustic and electronic, are musical representations of characters and stories she creates. She likes to use a wide variety of characters, landscapes, pictures and emotions, creating a unique narrative. Objects and situations that are normally overlooked are brought to life.

As of June 2016, Meriç Artaç is the Artistic Director of AKOM Ensemble.Since September 2018, Artaç started teaching composition at Amsterdam Conservatory and became coordinator and the representative of the composition department of Rotterdam Conservatory. Currently, she is working on her new opera for Grachten festival to be premiered in August 2019 in Amsterdam.

About Hezarfen Ensemble

Awarded “Best Chamber Music Ensemble” in 2012 by Andante Magazine, which seeks to promote contemporary music, Hezarfen Ensemble is composed of well-known musicians both from Turkey and Europe and has won critical acclaim for projects produced to date.

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