March 6: Arab & Turkish Music

Ertuğrul Erkisi – Vocals, Oud, Tambour

Ertuğrul Erkişi is a renowned singer, composer, instrumentalist and producer of traditional Turkish music.  Ertuğrul’s accomplishments in his field grew out of his passion and lifelong devotion to music which began with his comprehensive education. From 1990 to 1996, Ertuğrul completed undergraduate studies at the Turkish Music Conservatory in Izmir, Turkey. Thereafter, in 1999 he completed his master’s degree in Turkish Music at Ege University Institute of Social Sciences.  Ertuğrul is also pursuing a PhD in Musicology. Mr. Erkişi has performed nationally and internationally for the past twenty years.

Fatih Bayram – Guitarist

Fatih Bayram is a musician, producer and sound director. He’s been performing with various ensembles in New York and New Jersey since 2006. He has played classical Turkish music, Turkish folk music, and contemporary Turkish music with musicians all around the United States, including Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Houston, Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. He has introduced the sound of Turkish folk and popular music to many at intercultural gatherings and festivals around the States as well as in Canada.

Hafez Kotain – Percussionist

Hafez Kotain is a master percussionist fluent in both Arab and Latin rhythms–a fluency he honed in his native countries of Syria and Venezuela. In 2013 he received a Pew Fellowship in the Arts, a prestigious award given to Philadelphia artists of exemplary talent. Born in Venezuela of Syrian heritage, he grew up in Syria until the age of 16 years. He began playing the doumbek at the age of seven years, made his first stage performance at nine years, and went on to study with master Syrian percussionist Hady Jazan, winning the national percussion competitions in Syria for five consecutive years.

Enjoy a sampling from our larger performance last November!