By Heidi Trautmann ….
www.heiditrautmann.com ….
11 piano students and Maestro Rauf Kasimov, their teacher, went for a Sunday outing to Karpaz Gate Marina, along with parents, friends and supporters.
It was the splendid idea again by Ayla Iriz, the Maestro’s wife, the soul of the company, and with the help of Irene Marancos from Kaleidoskop who is always present and available when music is involved. It was not the first time, as I heard, every year such an excursion is undertaken for the purpose of the getting together of students and their parents to get to know each other. The highlight this time was a beautiful white piano placed at the disposal for an 
impromptu concert in the wide rooms of the Karpaz Gate Marina Restaurant.
It was a special pleasure for me to have been invited to the event on Sunday 17th March with the most beautiful weather we could have hoped for after the many weeks of cold and rainy days. A stiff wind had blown all clouds away and we enjoyed the coastal landscape in bright colours of yellow, green and blue.
The young pianists deserve to be mentioned by name here in the order in which they sat down at the piano and played three pieces each …without any notes…. A good chance to play in front of a very mixed audience and with the activities of a restaurant going on. Prior to the concert they had the chance to practice their pieces on the white piano and most of them changed into a ‘stage dress’, they looked beautiful.
Georgy Voronov 5 years
Ayse Çubukcu 8 years
Suzan Ballı 8 years
Masal Gül 9 years
Dilara Labutava 13 years
Antonio S. Huges 13 years
Sylvana I. Huges 11 years
İrem Bilen 12 years
Can Sakkaoğlu 12 years
İpek Zorba 20 years (guest)
Pelin Ece Acar 16 years
Boat crews who had their boats in the marina or who lived aboard over winter had come for the occasion, also guests from outside and they all were amazed at the young talents. I greeted Salih Toros, Ünal Dede, Alberto an Italian friend, who all made their compliments. Some of the piano students said, when asked if music would be their chosen profession: Oh yes, there is nothing else for me.
After the concert we all sat down for a delicious meal with the image of the boats and the blue sea in the wide windows and the satisfied chatter of the youngsters during the meal.
For nearly 15 years now I have been following some of Rauf Kasimov’s students and it has always been an immense pleasure to watch them grow in every respect and I can only repeat saying: ‘As long as we have young people like these we still have hope for the future of this world….and teachers who with such compassion and love to take care of them….’
