Turkish Harp Project by Sirin Pancarglu, Student of Susann McDonald
April 23, 2024
Şirin Pancaroğlu, a student of Susann McDonald at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, is spearheading the Turkish Harp Project, which promotes the Turkish Harp Music Collection and the harp itself across Eastern Europe, Asia, and North America.
Pancaroğlu studied at the Jacobs School of Music between 1988 and 1992, even acting as McDonald’s Assistant Instructor for a year. She writes, “it was an amazing experience to study with her, and I felt very lucky to be a step closer to her the year that I was her AI... I took a long time to do my master's degree with her because I had completed my undergrad in two years in Switzerland. I thought I would expand myself to fully be immersed in Miss McDonald's teachings. I'm so glad I did that. During my second year at IU, the USAIHC had its first [competition]. I remember Miss McDonald's hard work creating it and at the same time leading the World Harp Congress as its artistic director, on top of teaching a harp class of 25 [students]. I experienced so much studying with her. I felt like I packed a lifetime worth of experiences, observations and lots of very useful skills. The model she set for us was so empowering. When I finished my master's I was so sad to leave Bloomington, but I was also excited to go out there and tackle whatever would be up my way. She prepared us so well... this feeling of being a young musician but a self-sufficient one accompanied me all the time in my professional life. It is like she gave me wings to fly with.”
Now, the Turkish Harp Project is Pancaroğlu’s primary focus. The project aims to introduce the Turkish Harp Music Collection to the world through the harp. In 2024, the project has already reached Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Serbia, and Slovenia. Its featured locations include the International Belgrade Harp Festival in Serbia; the Szkoła Muzyczna l ill st. i'm. B. Rutkowskiego w Krakowie Music School in Krakow, Poland; and the Lyubomir Pipkov National School of Music in Sofia, Bulgaria. In addition, within the scope of the Turkish-Hungarian Cultural Year, collaborative events were held at the Szeged Szegedi Szimfonikus Zenekar in Szeged, welcoming students from the Király-König Péter Zenei AMI Music School Hungary, and also at the Szent Istvan Kiraly Music School in Budapest. In Kosovo, events were organized in cooperation with the Kosovo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Kosovo Ministry of Culture, presenting performances in Pristina, Kosovo.
Şirin Pancaroğlu
The Turkish Harp project will continue to meet with harpists, harp educators, students, music lovers, and music institutions in more countries throughout the world in 2024. The project, which proposes a series of activities combining concerts, workshops, and seminars, will be visiting Austria, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, and the USA among its future stops this year. A composition from The Turkish Harp Music Collection entitled “The Cry of the Flamingos” will be performed by the contestants as part of the compulsory repertoire of the Rave Harps International Prestige Awards harp competition to be held in Singapore in August 2024.
The Turkish Harp Izmir Concert - The first of the Turkish Harp Project 2024 concerts took place on January 20, 2024 at St. John the Baptist Catholid Church in Izmir, Türkiye. Watch the video here.
Workshop Krakow, Poland - Harpist Şirin Pancaroğlu gave workshops of Turkish tunes to young harpists in Krakow, Poland. Watch the video here.
Çeng Experience - Pancaroğlu gave a seminar on both the history and the revival of the Turkish harp, "çeng," which disappeared in Anatolia in the 17th century. During the seminars she also enables young harpists to experience the special sound of the çeng.
Turkish Harp Music Collection Performances - Harpists from around the world are learning and including works to their repertoire from the Turkish Harp Music Collection. These include Tamsin Dearnley’s performance of 'Nihavend Peşrev' and Mai Fukui's performance of 'The Cry of the Flamingos.'
Slovenia, Velenje - The Turkish Harp Project visited Velenje, Slovenia with an intensive program of workshops, concerts and masterclasses. The Slovenian Harpists Society organized the event.
Concert & Interview - Harpist Şirin Pancaroğlu took the stage at a concert organized by the Mother and Baby Health Foundation at Caddebostan Cultural Center in Istanbul. On this occasion, she was interviewed by TRT 2 about the Turkish Harp Project, which aims to bring together the cultural heritage of the çeng and Turkish music and share them with the world. Watch the interview here.
Acknowledgements - The Turkish Harp Project team would like to recognize the gracious efforts of wonderful colleagues and musicians throughout the world who are supporting the project and making collaborations possible: Agnieszka Grela-Fedkowicz, Poland; Anastzasia Razvalyaeva, Hungary; Natalia Gorbunova, Hungary; Kohar Andonian, Bulgaria; Dardan Noka Selimaj, Kosovo; Ivana Pejoska, Serbia.
Find images and videos of the Turkish Harp Project on the project’s Instagram page, YouTube page, and Facebook page.
The USA International Harp Competition congratulates Şirin Pancaroğlu on this exceptional project promoting the harp around the world.
