A Night of Turkish Sufi Mystic Music, Poetry and Images
Turkish Mystic Sufi musician Latif Bolat will present music, poetry, Sufi mystic stories and images from the ancient land of Turkey.
Latif Bolat plays Turkish Folk Music and devotional Sufi songs which are called Ilahi and Nefes, from the Anatolian peninsula. The lyrics of Ilahis or Nefeses are taken largely from the great mystic poets Yunus Emre, Niyazi Misri and many other ancient troubadours of Turkey. The program also includes sacred ballads composed by Latif Bolat. Throughout the program, devotional poetry will be recited from 13th Century Sufi poets Yunus Emre and Rumi, and images of Turkish people and scenery will be reflected on a screen.
One of the most well-known Turkish musicians in the US, Bolat possesses a vast repertoire, ranging from Sufi devotional songs and Turkish Folk music to classical pieces. His mesmerizing performances draw on ancient texts and employ traditional instrumentation such as the baglama (long necked lute), and he is often accompanied by other Turkish traditional instruments such as oud, bendir and ney flute. Now residing in New Mexico and Turkey, Mr.Bolat has presented his music all across America, Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Singapore, Bulgaria, Turkey, Philippines, England and many other international locations. In addition to his Carnegie Hall concerts and lectures, he has recorded 4 very successful CDs, made many TV and radio appearances and composed music for the PBS Documentary “Mohammed: Legacy of a Prophet” and George Lucas’s TV series “Young Indiana Jones”. He is also the co-author of a Turkish Sufi poetry book titled “Quarreling with God” which is published by White Cloud Books (Oregon, 2008).
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LATIF BOLAT
http://www.latifbolat.com (for music, picture and further information)
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LATIF BOLAT:
Turkish Singer, Composer and Scholar of Turkish Music and Folklore
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Latif Bolat is a native of the Turkish Mediterranean town of Mersin. After receiving his degree in folklore and music at Gazi University in Ankara, Turkey, he taught traditional music throughout the country. He then went on to manage Ankara Halk Tiyatrosu, a musical theater company, which performed traditional musical plays. Mr.Bolat also received further degrees in Turkish History and Middle East Religion and Politics from Ankara University and an MBA from San Francisco State University.
His recent performance and teaching engagements include:
* Educational concerts-lectures at Carnegie Hall in NYC.
Soundtrack music for George Lucas Studio’s “Young Indiana Jones”.
PBS documentary “Mohammed: Legacy of a Prophet”.
* Released 4 successful CDs in the US, Co-authored the Turkish mystic Sufi poetry translations and anthology book: “Quarreling with God: Mystic Rebel Sufi Poems of the Dervishes of Turkey”.
*Won the “Best Collaboration” award in the contest for intercultural dialogue “Other songs” of Euromedcafe (held under the auspices of the Directorate for External Relations at the European Commission, Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for Intercultural Dialogue and Fondazzione Mediterraneo) with the Bulgarian Folk/Jazz group Lot Lorien in 2007.
* Festivals across the World: All India Sufi and Mystic Music Festival, Edinburgh Middle Eastern Spirituality Festival, Alaska Folk Festival, London Festival of Islamic World, Monterey World Music Festival, Boulder World Music Festival, Singapore World Music Festival at the Esplanade, Lotus World Music Festival in Bloomington, Vancouver Spiritual Music Festival, Memphis in May Festival, Carnegie Hall Global Encounters Festival, Canberra National Festival in Australia, Urkult Festival in Sweden and others.
* Concerts and conferences at many institutions including, the United Nations, Oxford University, SOAS-London, Leeds University, University of California at Berkeley, Monash University in Melbourne, University of Chicago, Georgia Tech, UCLA, Stanford University, UC Santa Barbara, University of Southern California, San Francisco State University, University of Washington, Arizona State University, University of South Carolina, Claremont College, University of Colorado at Boulder, Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio, University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, Brigham Young University and many others..
* The California Art Council rewarded Mr.Bolat with a grant for his contributions to the preservation of Turkish traditional music. Turkish Ministry of Culture sponsored his Turkish Sufi poetry translations project titled “Quarreling with God”. He also leads educational Cultural tours to Turkey for the past 10 years. Please visit his web site below for music, press reviews and other information.
