DÜNYA Org. is a non-profit, 501 (c) 3-tax exempt educational organization located in Boston, MA, USA. DÜNYA seeks to work with a wide range of cultural and religious organizations and musical groups but relies on no particular political, governmental or religious affiliation or support of any kind. Its goal is to present a contemporary view of a wide range of Turkish traditions, alone and in interaction with other world traditions, through performance, publication and other educational activities.
What makes DÜNYA different?
This is what you can expect from DÜNYA programs each season:
Renk (color). The many colors of music—popular and classical, secular and sacred, old and new—are displayed in adventurous programs which explore the relationships among different styles. In the Turkish spectrum, Arabesk (popular) and ayin (classical sufi music), Ottoman theater (karagöz) and Ottoman chamber music (ince saz), entertainment music (tango, kanto, fasıl) and marching band (mehter) each find their way into a season or even into a single concert, often in conversation with other world traditions.
Sohbet (conversation). In conversation, culture and individuality are enhanced, not threatened. Programming begins with the Ottoman-Turkish tradition, but Turkish music is just one voice among many. When carefully positioned next to other musics—Western classical music and jazz, religious music of many regions and creeds, popular music in its many forms—the colors of Turkish music become even more vivid than when alone.
This is why so many DÜNYA programs involve collaborations which cross boundaries of style and tradition, programs like: European Travelers and the Ottomans (a tribute to Mozart, with Boston Camerata), The Psalms of Ali Ufki, Conversations with Our Teachers, Armenian Composers of the Ottoman Period, Let us Repeat the Names of God (with The Silver Leaf Gospel Singers), Greek and Turkish Holy Days, The Music of Cyprus, and The Language of Birds (spring 2008).
All repertoires are presented respectfully and explored for what they contribute to the whole. Almost every program includes improvisation and new composition, often in traditional forms.
Principal Officers
Advisory Board
Volunteers