Pianist Ayse Taspinar Performs at Turkish Earthquake Fundraiser

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Los Angeles Turkish American Association (LATAA) will present pianist Ayse Taspinar at the Turkey Earthquake Relief Piano Recital on November 19 in Santa Monica, an event dedicated to victims of the October earthquake in Van, Eastern Turkey.

"Many people were affected as the result of this devastating disaster," said Murat Mese, president of LATAA. "And we want to help the survivors as soon as we can." He added, "Ms. Taspinar's performance will be a moving experience for us all."

The recital is part of a wider campaign launched by LATAA and includes other fundraisers, including a concert by pop band "Evil Maria" with singer Evren Goknar on Nov. 11 in Hollywood. All proceeds will be donated to the Kizilay (Red Crescent) relief organization.

Ms. Taspinar's program will feature the J.S. Bach/ F. Busoni Chaconne, R. Schumann's Sonata in F# minor, and Turkish composer A.A. Saygun's Etude n. 1, as well as E.R. Blanchet's "Turquie".

The event will be held between 6pm and 9pm at the Santa Monica Public Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, California. The concert is free, with a minimum suggested donation of $20 and seating is on a first-come-first-served basis. For reservations email [email protected].

For more information or to make donations visit www.laturks.org. or call (310) 220 4924.  

About LATAA
The Los Angeles Turkish American Association is a non-profit charitable organization, dedicated to promoting Turkish-American relations, raising public knowledge of Turkish culture and history, and assisting the Turkish-American community in Los Angeles and in the United States. 

About Ayse Taspinar
Ayse Taspinar (www.aysetaspinar.com) is an international pianist who performed around the world, including in New York, Washington D.C., Rome, Buenos Aires and Ankara. In 2009 she received a UCLA fellowship for her doctorate thesis on piano music in the Ottoman Empire and she lectured on the topic, "Rediscovering the Shared Cultural heritage of Armenians and Turks through Music." Born in Paris, Ms. Taspinar studied music in Turkey, as well as the Conservatoria di Roma and the Conservatorio di Milano. She earned her Masters Degree in Music at Indiana University and recently completed her doctorate at the University of California, Los Angeles.

SOURCE The Los Angeles Turkish American Association