26 Kas The Girl From Ipanema
Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim, piano and guitar player, is one of the most prominent jazz musicians of the 20th century…
He goes by Tom Jobim.
He has dedicated his life, his love and his heart to music.
Jobim hails from Brazil.
He is a master, and a considerable number of his compositions are accepted as the standard of jazz.
Globally acclaimed performers such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Elis Regina, Oscar Peterson, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Toots Thielemans have immortalized his music.
He is among the creators of ‘Bossa Nova’, a Brazilian origin music and dance movement.
Garota de Ipanema (Girl From Ipanema) is Jobim’s most popular piece.
The music is lucid and clear.
Even if you can’t remember the title, you will certainly remember the song when your paths cross somewhere.
Jobim was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 54th Grammy’s in 2012.
The city of Rio de Janeiro changed the name of Galeão International Airport to immortalize his name.
The airport now bears its new name, Antônio Carlos Jobim Airport.
…
Ceren Necipoğlu, harpist.
She has dedicated her life, her love and her heart to music.
As the saying goes, she has lived with harp music in the background as life went on.
That music, it turns out, has never stopped.
Ceren studied at the Istanbul Municipality Conservatory of Music and at the Istanbul University State Conservatory of Music Harp Department.
She eventually graduated from the Advanced Level in the Art of Harp at the State Conservatory of Music while she completed her studies and received her diplomas from German High School in Istanbul and the Department of Translation and Interpreting at Boğaziçi University, respectively.
Ceren then is awarded a scholarship and flies to the US, where she completes the graduate program at the Department of Harp Arts in Louisiana State University in just one year.
She was awarded scholarships for a Master’s Degree in Harp Arts programs, and received invitations from Cleveland Institute of Music, University of Rochester, Eastman School of Music, University of Michigan Ann Arbor College of Music, and Indiana University School of Music, some of the most respected music schools in the world.
Ceren accepted Indiana University School of Music’s invitation and goes on to receive her Master’s Degree in Harp Arts, attending world-renowned Harpist and Pedagogue Susann McDonald’s classes.
In addition to Susann McDonald, Ceren studied harp with virtuosos such as Judy Loman and Marie-Claire Jamet, and chamber music with well-known masters like Christian Lardé, Dennis Parker, Thomas Robertello and Kate Lukas.
She collaborated with a number of Turkish and international conductors at CRR Symphony Orchestra, Akdeniz Youth Orchestra, Louisiana State University Symphony Orchestra and Opera Society, Indiana University Symphony Orchestra, Ohio Light Opera Orchestra, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, Bursa Regional State Symphony Orchestra, Greater Eskişehir Municipality Symphony Orchestra and Anadolu University Symphony Orchestra.
Necipoğlu performed in over 100 international concerts, both in the form of solo performances and collaborations. She received national and international awards, and undertook projects.
Just reading Ceren’s resume will make anyone’s head spin.
She forged herself an international career, transforming herself into a “Master”.
Once a student, she becomes a teacher.
.- Where?
At home, in Turkey.
She established The Art of Harp Department at Anadolu University as a faculty member.
Completely dedicated herself to her students and her music.
…
Ceren worked hard, worked tooth and nail, never wavered, never went silent, never stopped.
Her life is a labor of love and sacrifice by any sense of the imagination.
Just like the harp.
Every single string she pulled produced three different distinct notes.
…
It’s June 2009. An Air France jet, flight 447 is preparing for take-off at 7.03 p.m. at Rio de Janerio’s Antônio Carlos Jobim Airport.
Ceren is on-board.
She is the only Turk in the plane.
She is flying back home after a series of concerts in Rio de Janerio.
This is how Antônio Carlos Jobim and Ceren Necipoğlu, two great musicians who have never met before and whose hearts beat for music come together for the first time in a somewhat unlikely turn of events.
The airliner takes off from Antônio Carlos Jobim Airport. The flight is scheduled to land in Charles de Gaulle Airport at 11.10 a.m. local time.
Air France flight 447 disappears over the Atlantic with 228 souls on board, 216 passengers and 12 crew members.
I remember talking to Ceren’s elder sister İmre the next day.
I remember telling her ‘Don’t worry’, but I don’t remember what I said that for.
I clearly remember a phrase that was etched in my brain while reading the news stories in the following days.
‘One of Turkey’s greatest values the nation is unaware of…’
.- unaware ….
May God spare the young when it comes to death.
Words fail me.
…
You know what happened after that?
İmre organized an evening at Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall at Harbiye for Ceren in 2010.
There were videos depicting Ceren’s life and her work. The elegant mesmerizing sound of the harp echoed Ceren’s music gently like drops of a summer afternoon rain throughout the hall.
Ceren’s family and all those who loved her were present. Yaşar Kemal, a milestone in Turkish literature, who has since passed was there, too.
It was almost as if he said, ‘What really matters is who is indeed aware of her, son, don’t worry.’
I remember the place was packed. I remember our friends, the guests, and all the bright faces.
A feeling of unhurried serenity and a sense of sheer calm lingers with me from that evening.
There were quite a few days here and there since where we talked about that evening and said, “We should make this bigger”.
Time passed.
It was 2019 when İmre told me she wanted to hold a festival in Ceren’s name despite her lack of means for that, and the fact that she hadn’t even made it to square one since her sister’s passing.
And the Phoenix rose from…nothing.
Everyone pitched in, in whatever way they could, and an international festival was thus held in this land of ours, and it was successful in its first running, too.
‘Ceren Necipoğlu Istanbul International Harp Festival‘.
There were quite a few entries from all over the world for various contests held as part of the festival.
.- What do you mean by who would listen to harp music in Turkey?
The lines were going for several blocks in front of the German Consulate in January 2020.
People wanted to get in.
It was almost standing room only in the Pera Museum.
Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall was jam-packed.
There were a number of events, contests, and Master Class sessions in quite a few venues.
Wherever music was performed, every string pulled produced three distinct notes.
Just like an harp.
Ideas are buzzing already for 2021, the word “virtual” a common thread among them.
You can visit cnharpfestival.com and get all the details.
…
So, why I am writing this today?
Today is November 24. It’s Teachers’ Day.
It was November 24 when Ceren was reunited with her homeland for the final time, I just wanted you to know that.
A daughter.
A sister.
An aunt.
A friend.
An artist.
A teacher.
…
“If you love your beloved as if you will never lose them, you will wait as if they will return any time when they are gone,’ said Rumi.
A home still awaits her.
May her love and music flourish with the youth.
Happy Teachers’ Day.