Korhan Erel will be playing two concerts with Laia Genc’s Istanbul Composers Orchestra in Istanbul on April 13 and in Berlin on May 7, both concerts in the program of the XJAZZ Festival. The festival’s program includes a lot of Turkish and Turkish-German acts this year due to their expansion into Turkey this year. There will be concerts in Istanbul, Ankara and Berlin.

The orchestra was founded by Laia Genc during her residency in Istanbul in 2014. It includes original compositions as well as reinterpretation of Kurdish, Turkish and Armenian folk tunes, depending on the line up of singers.

The April 13 Istanbul concert will be at Zorlu Performance Center with the following musicians:

Ceren Oykut: Video
Başak Yavuz: Vocals
Mehmet Akbaş: Vocals
Christian Thome: Drums, Percussion
Baran Say: Double Bass / Electric
Dave Allen: Guitar
Korhan Erel: Computer, Electronics
Laia Genc: Piano
Bassem Hawar: Djoze
Taner Akyol: Baglama, Vocals
Oscar Antoli: Clarinet, Bassclarinet
Özlem Kaya: Violin
Karen Lorenz: Viola
Uygur Vural: Cello
Markus Braun: Tonmeister

The May 7 Berlin concert will be at Emmauskirche with the following musicians:

Ceren Oykut: Video
Başak Yavuz: Vocals
Mehmet Akbaş: Vocals
Christian Thome: Drums, Percussion
Philip Bardenberg: Bass
Dave Allen: Guitar
Korhan Erel: Computer, Electronics
Laia Genc: Piano
Taner Akyol: Baglama, Vocals
Oscar Antoli: Clarinet, Bassclarinet
Saara Walraf: Violin
Radek Stawarz: Viola
Uygur Vural: Cello
Martin Ruch: Tonmeister
as guest Bodek Janke: drums, percussion