At the core of DÜNYA, even before musicianship, lies friendship. DÜNYA’s many ensembles are nothing but friends of DÜNYA coming together to make music. Some of DÜNYA’s friends will tend to appear in more productions along side our core ensemble, composed of myself, Robert Labaree and Cem Mutlu. However, there will also be DÜNYA productions such as A Story of the City: Constantinople, Istanbul in which as many as 35 musicians (friends) will collaborate. Yet even though some of the cast members in such a production may be participating at a DÜNYA event for the first time, they will immediately become a member of the greater DÜNYA family.

DÜNYA has a core ensemble and many circles of friends. Each of our productions will present a musical theme and, depending on this theme and the kinds of instruments required, our core ensemble will be joined by a number of our friends. That’s what makes us a Musicians’ Collective.

Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol