By Margaret Sheard ….
What a lovely classical concert hosted by The Soulist Coffee and Music House in Alsancak on Sunday 27th January, which was again a full house.
As with previous classical concerts, there were many comments from those attending of how refreshing it was to have something different for those who enjoy classical music.
The audience was entertained by Katie Economidou – Mezzo Soprano, Zara Barkhoudarian – Soprano and Piano, Heran Mirillo – Flute and outstanding performances by young artists Peri Sualp and Edgar Evoyan. Zara accompanied all of the artists on piano during the evening.
The evening started with Katie Economidou singing several lovely pieces which were then followed by Heran Mirillo with her flute, again wonderful music. Both were accompanied by Zara Barkhoudarian who then gave her own solo performance with voice and piano.
There were some amendments to the program which had been supplied but this did not spoil the wonderful selection of music which had been chosen by the various artists.
Part way through the evening there was an interval and this is when we were hearing so many nice comments about the concert so far.
The remainder of the evening was primarily the time for the young artists to show their talent, and what talent it was. First on stage was Edgar Evoyan who immediately had the audience enthralled with his exuberant performance, for a 12 year old he had such charisma and received much applause and cheers after his songs. Edgar and Katie also sang together.
The other talented performer who stepped onto the stage was well-known Peri Sualp who has performed on numerous occasions in Cyprus and in Turkey in musical extravaganzas with her mentor and voice teacher Demetra George Mustafaoğlu. Peri joined Edgar on stage and they sang Do Re Mi from The Sound of Music together perfectly.
Peri then gave her own solo performance with songs from the musicals – Colours of the Wind (Pocohontas), Part of Your World (The Little Mermaid), I Enjoy Being a Girl (Flower Drum) and Feed the Birds (Mary Poppins), all so very well performed and Peri also sang a special piece for a special person who was there that evening – “O mio babbino caro”, which was very touching.
The two young artists (Peri 13 years old and Edgar 12 years old) have shown how much young talent there is with us here in North Cyprus. It is so important to give these young people encouragement to continue with their music in the future. They will both go far I am sure.
Following a few more songs from Katie, the evening was drawing to a close and what a wonderful finale with all of the artists singing Time to Say Goodbye. I must say it brought a tear to my eye, and maybe to others as well. Alper thanked the performers and presented them each with a gift.
Congratulations to The Soulist for organising such a great event. I believe it was the first time all of the performers had appeared at The Soulist and they all seemed keen to visit again.
