“Women Stars of Tomorrow" take to the Stage

Young musicians found eligible for funding from the “Women Stars of Tomorrow: Young Women Musicians Support Fund” launched under the Istanbul Music Festival in cooperation with TSKB, are now ready to take to the stage. Proceeds from the concert to be held at Boğaziçi University's Albert Long Hall on Monday, 28 May with İdil Biret, Turkey's first "child prodigy", as the guest of honor, will be transferred to the Young Female Musicians Support Fund.

The 14 young women musicians who will represent our country on the stage around the world will benefit from the training support fund, "Women Stars of Tomorrow", launched in cooperation with the Industrial Development Bank of Turkey (TSKB) to mark the 46th year of the Istanbul Music Festival. Proceeds from the concert, to be held at Boğaziçi University's Albert Long Hall on Monday, 28 May, will be transferred to the Young Female Musicians Support Fund.

During the "Pre-Concert Events" to be moderated by author Yekta Kopan ahead of the concert opening at 8pm, İnci Kadribegiç, a student at Trakya University Medical School and a stem cell researcher, along with Zeynep Karacan, a student at Yale University and an Honorable Mention Award winner in the First Step to the Nobel Prize in the Physics contest, will tell their stories of their personal success.

"Equal opportunities are important, not only economically but also socially"

TSKB has been one of the sponsors of the Istanbul Music Festival since 1990 and now serves as the education sponsor of the Women Stars of Tomorrow project within the framework of its social responsibility work for women's empowerment.

Speaking about the project, Yetkin Kesler, the Executive Vice President of TSKB, said equal opportunities were far more than just a concept at TSKB. "We believe equal opportunities should be handled from a multidimensional point of view. Based on that approach, we observe equal opportunities at our bank, where 55% of all employees and executives are women. Furthermore, we have supported an increase of 15% in women's employment and of 30% in women-friendly practices at the firms we have funded during the last year through our "Women-Friendly Loan" program."

Underlining their support for women's employment from both an economic and social perspective, Kesler referred to the Women Stars of Tomorrow project as a product of their approach. Kesler explained TSKB's other relevant projects. "Another project which brings us great excitement is the scholarship fund, 'Empower Through Education', which we launched in cooperation with the Turkish Education Foundation and in which we support young female university students. In addition, we are one of the first signatories of WEPs in Turkey. We are also delighted to have been awarded the Equal Opportunities Model (FEM) certificate by KAGIDER (Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey) in recognition of our relevant policies and processes."

Young women musicians following their dreams in the Women Stars of Tomorrow project

The Young Women Musicians Support Fund offers funding to 14 young women musicians who want to continue their music education abroad or attend master classes, participate in contests or orchestral auditions, or own a good instrument.

Musicians entitled to receive support under the Training Support Fund:

* Alara Acar - Harp

* Aslı Su Kurtuluş - Flute

* Deniz Ayşe Birdal - Cello

* Deniz Su Polat - Viola

* Ezgi Göktürk - Piano

* Ezgi Sarıkçıoğlu - Violin

* Ezgi Su Apaydın - Violin

* Gizem Sözeri - Double Bass

* Gülin Ataklı - Oboe

* Güneş Hızlılar - Harp

* İdil Yunkuş - Violin

* Ramona Kemmer - Piano

* Sesim Bezdüz - Violin

* Ülker Tümer – Cello

Concert Program:

6.30-7.30pm Pre-Concert Event @Demir Demirgil Theatre Hall - Boğaziçi University Moderator Yekta Kopan. Personal success stories of Zeynep Karacan and İnci Kadribegiç.

8.00pm Concert @Albert Long Hall - Boğaziçi University

Marcel Grandjany : Rhapsodie for Harp

Claude Debussy : Danse sacrée et danse profane

Francis Poulenc : Sonata for Oboe and Piano, FP 185

Sergei Rachmaninov : Variations on a theme of Corelli, op. 42 /İdil Biret

Johannes Brahms : Piano Quartet No.1, op.25