Tepki 2 "fikri hür, vicdanı hür, irfanı hür" 
(Reaction 2 "free thought, free conscience, free knowledge")

1- "bir ağaç gibi" ("like a tree")
2- Kazlıçeşme 2:05
3- Gaz maskeli semazen (Gas Masked Whirling Dervish) 2:48
4- "bir orman gibi" ("like a forest") 5:52
5- Adalete hitaben (To Justice) 7:27
6- Duran adam (The Standing Man) 8:42
7- "fikri hür, vicdanı hür, irfanı hür" ("free thought, free conscience, free knowledge") 10:08

Erberk Eryilmaz, sef (conductor)
Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic

Ilk Seslendirme (Premiere performance)
5 Mart 2014 (March 5, 2014)
Carnegie Music Hall

Program Notes
In March 2013, I wrote Tepki 1 "Vurulduk!" (Reaction 1 "We are shot!") for Solo Piano, which is about how people should express their feelings and react to what is happening around them. In May 2013, only two months later, this "reaction"took place, and Turkey experienced one of the biggest youth movements in its history. The people were moved to action when the government decided to destroy a beautiful green park at the center of Istanbul in the process of building a newshopping mall. Soon after the protests started, prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan validated his controversial decision on the premise that his party received half the votes in the previous election. This and many other careless speeches by Erdoğan undermined the freedom and privacy of the people, demonstrated his misunderstanding of democracy, and fueled the protests.

Erdoğan has stated, "We would like to raise new generations that are religious," and plans to accomplish this through the strict laws imposed on the people and the institutionalization of religion in education . This is one of many reasons thatmillions of people have started protesting Erdoğan and his party. Although these people come from very different backgrounds and ideologies, they are united by a single ideal, the very ideology on which our country was established: absolutefreedom. In founding Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938) proclaimed, "We would like to raise generations with free thought, free conscience, and free knowledge."

The piece is divided into 7 movements performed continuously:

Movement I - "like a tree"

Movement II - Kazlıçeşme

Movement III - Gas Masked Whirling Dervish

Movement IV - "like a forest"

Movement V - To Justice

Movement VI - The Standing Man

Movement VII - "free thought, free conscience, free knowledge"

Tepki 2 is for people who seek absolute freedom; freedom that is not suppressed by any government, any ideology, or any religion.

Tepki 2 "fikri hür, vicdanı hür, irfanı hür"

Yoğurtçunun Oyun Havaları (Dances of the Yogurt Maker) for String Quartet

8 dances from Silifke
I-Kekliği Düz Ovada Avlarım
II-Yayla Yolları
III-Ham Çökelek
IV-Türkmen Kızı
V-Açıl Ey Ömrümün Varı
VI-Bir Boyuna Baktım Bir De Yüzüne
VII-Silifke'nin Yoğurdu
VIII-Tımbıllı

Carpe Diem String Quartet

Yoğurtçunun Oyun Havaları (Dances of the Yogurt Maker) for String Quartet

performed by 

Ismail Lumanovski, clarinet and Apollo Chamber Players (Anabel Ramirez, Matt Detrick, Whitney Bullock, Matthew Dudzik) featuring Timothy Pitts, bass and Matthew McClung, percussion

Special thanks to Ryan Edwards and Coincident Sound! 

Thracian Airs of Besime Sultan (2015) is my free improvisation on the folk music of the Thracian region. This six-movement, through-composed piece explores folkloric dances and styles from a large geographical area, including Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Turkey.

The work was written for Apollo Chamber Players and Roma clarinetist Ismail Lumanovski, and it is dedicated to my late grandmother, Besime Civelek. My grandmother was the only member of my family who was from Thrace, and in our last phone conversation, she expressed how much she loves my music. During the summer of 2014, she and I listened to my entire catalog of works. As the sultan of the family, we affectionally called her 'Besime Sultan'. 

Thracian Airs of Besime Sultan exists in two versions: string quartet and chamber ensemble (clarinet, percussion and string quintet).

Besime Sultan'ın Trakya Havaları (Thracian Airs Of Besime Sultan)

Concerto for Solo Wind Instrument, Ensemble and Imaginary Folk Dancers
-Thrace
-Eastern Black Sea
-Istanbul
-Western Black Sea 
-Southeastern Anatolia

Ismail Lumanovski, soloist (clarinet in Bb and clarinet in G)
Erberk Eryılmaz, conductor

HOPPA PROJECT
Dawn Posey, violin
Alyssa Wang, violin
Laura Krentzman, viola
Evan Kahn, cello
Ryan McMasters, double bass
Cihan Yücel, piano
Abby Langhorst, percussion
Ari Hajek, percussion

Concerto For Solo Wind Instrument, Ensemble And Imaginary Folk Dancers

Miniatures Set No.6 for Violin and Percussion (2015)
-Aşağıki Mahalle
-Ellerinde Pankartlar
-Delilo
-Dolama Dolamayı
-Tiridine Bandım
-Giresun Karşılaması

Alyssa Wang, violin
Abby Langhorst, percussion

March 30, 2016
Kresge Hall, Carnegie Mellon University
(live, world premiere performance)

recorded by Tim Paek

Miniatures Set No.6 for Violin and Percussion, Alyssa Wang and Abby Langhorst

"Was her face the moon or sunlight?" for Ensemble and Recorded Folk Musician by Erberk Eryılmaz

Dawn Posey and Alyssa Wang, violins
Laura Krentzman, viola
Cody Green, cello
Amanda Rice-Johnston, bass
Abby Langhorst, percussion
Erberk Eryılmaz, piano
and
Önder Özkoç, voice and bağlama

Sound by Lim, Wei

"Was her face the moon or sunlight?" ("Ay mıydı, gün müydü yüzü?")

Erberk Eryılmaz - Uçan Türkü (Flying Folk Song) for Viola, Zheng, Piano and Percussion

Laura Krentzman, viola
Yi-Chieh Jay Lai, zheng
Erberk Eryılmaz, piano
Sophia Zorek, percussion

Uçan Türkü (Flying Folk Song) for Viola, Zheng, Piano and Percussion

Songs Are Against War for Voice and Piano, 2014

Ayşe Göknur Şanal, voice
Erberk Eryılmaz, piano

Sound Engineers: Kristian Tchetchko and Riccardo Schulz

Recorded at the Vlahakis Recording Studio at the Carnegie Mellon University, School of Music on May 11, 2015

Songs Are Against War for Voice and Piano (EXCERPT)

Kerimoğlu Zeybeği for Viola, Piano, Bağlama and Recorded Zurna

Laura Krentzman, viola
Erberk Eryılmaz, piano
Önder Özkoç, bağlama
and recorded zurna

Kerimoğlu Zeybeği for Viola, Piano, Bağlama and Recorded Zurna

Commissioned and performed by Del Sol String Quartet

About Hoppa! 2 for String Quartet (2017):

The 20th Century witnessed a massive amount of migration of people between Eastern Europe and Turkey. After the Balkan Wars and World War I, nationalism in the region was at its peak, and so people from different cultures could not live together anymore because Europe was dividing into smaller countries. Leaving home was not easy for the Turks, Greeks, Bulgarians, Bosnians and many other people of Eastern Europe, and many folk songs of the time document the sadness of people and the sadness of leaving their homes and lives behind. Despite this, the music of this region has hopeful, positive energy.

My work, Hoppa! 2 for String Quartet was commissioned by Del Sol String Quartet for their 25th-anniversary celebration. The piece is about music that travelled as a result of migration. It consists of seven connected movements inspired by the masters of string playing from the Eastern Black Sea coast to Eastern Europe. Although string playing styles vary so much in the region, from Picoğlu Osman of Trabzon to Grigoraş Dinicu of Bucharest, the work focuses on the connection of Eastern European cultures without boundaries.

The title of the work “Hoppa!” is an expression used commonly in Turkish and Eastern European cultures meaning “Come on! Let’s go!”. This forward, ecstatic attitude describes the primary aim of the work, which is to bring the raw energy of Turkish folk music from local villages, street weddings, and sunflower fields to the concert stage. 

Although people of these cultures didn’t live together for many decades, these cultures have lived together in language, in arts, and in folk music. My goal is to create a piece emphasizing the unity between the music of these cultures and make them live together in music.

Seven connected movements:
I- 0:00
2- 2:01
3- 3:59
4- 5:48
5- 10:02
6- 13:56
7- 15:36

Hoppa! 2 for String Quartet

"Öfkelerini bir gün bile, karşısındakilere bağırmamış insanların önünde öldürüldük." - Ugur Mumcu

Piyano - Piano: Erberk Eryilmaz

Kresge Auditorium - Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 

Solo Piyano icin Tepki "Vurulduk!" - Reaction "We are shot!" for Solo Piano

WindSync and Erberk Eryılmaz, davul


About Rakı Havası 
Rakı Havası for Woodwind Quintet and Davul was commissioned by WindSync in 2019. The work is inspired by the celebratory drinking tunes and dances of the northwest region of Turkey. Rakı is Turkey's national alcoholic drink and mainly produced from the grapes and aniseed of the region. This drink does not only influence the human body but has also influenced the folk music of the region with super cheerful and explosively energetic music in 9/8 meter. For an authentic performance, drinking by the performers is recommended, but for an accurate performance, maybe not.

Rakı Havası For Woodwind Quintet And Davul - WindSync And Erberk Eryılmaz

Laura Krentzman, viola
Daniel Nesta Curtis, conductor

Chad Crummel, David Robbins, Carlos Camacho, percussionists
Charles Ermer, Levi Dean, basses
Erberk Eryilmaz, piano

Erberk Eryılmaz

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