Nicosia Municipal Orchestra ( tr, Lefkoşa Belediye Orkestrası) is an

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

based in

North Nicosia North Nicosia or Northern Nicosia ( tr, Kuzey Lefkoşa ; el, Βόρεια Λευκωσία) is the capital and largest city of the ''de facto'' state of Northern Cyprus. It is the northern part of the divided city of Nicosia, and is governed b ...

operated by the

Nicosia Turkish Municipality Nicosia Turkish Cypriot Municipality ( tr, Lefkoşa Türk Belediyesi) is the governing body of North Nicosia province of TRNC. It was established in 1958 and was recognized by Article 173 of the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus. After 1974 a ...

. As of 2014, it was the largest orchestra in

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, isl ...

. It was established in 1987, under the administration of the mayor

Mustafa Akıncı Mustafa Akıncı (; born 28 December 1947) is a Turkish Cypriot politician who was the president of Northern Cyprus from April 2015 until October 2020. An architect by profession, Akıncı in 1976 became the first elected mayor of the Nicosia ...

. The project stagnated for some years due to financial difficulties, but its official establishment was realized in 1991. During Şemi Bora's term as mayor, the orchestra developed to incorporate a large number of musicians, educate new musicians in Nicosia, give concerts in parks, squares and public squares and organize the Light Music Composition Contest, which it annually organizes to this date. In 2002, the Chamber Orchestra was established and under

Kutlay Erk Kutlay Erk (born 1952) is a Cypriot politician. He served as mayor of North Nicosia, the Turkish Cypriot part of Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Ara ...

, emphasis was put on classical music. The orchestra delivers regular concerts at public places in the walled city of Nicosia, including

Büyük Han Büyük Han (lit. Great Inn) ( el, Μεγάλο Πανδοχείο ''Megálo Pandocheío'') is the largest caravansarai on the island of Cyprus and is considered to be one of the finest buildings on the island.. Located in the capital of Cyprus, ...

, Lefke Hanı and Bandabuliya. It has several sub-divisions, including the Latin Orchestra. Its children's orchestra was established in 2013. As of 2014, it was headed by Can Özer. The orchestra has greatly contributed to the participation of Northern Cyprus in the Türkvizyon Song Contest. It annually organizes the Classical Music Days of Nicosia, which last more than a month. All of the income earned from its concerts are donated to charity and non-governmental organizations. Journalist Sami Özuslu has called the orchestra's activities a "scream" to the Turkish Cypriot community, calling for Turkish Cypriots to engage in and preserve their cultural activities to ensure their communal survival. He also called the orchestra "capable of competing internationally in terms of talent and education". Following a big financial crisis in the Nicosia Turkish Municipality, the orchestra reportedly "lost support" in the years 2012–13 and had to bear "unfair amounts of work" only to see "lack of public interest".

References

{{reflist Turkish Cypriot music Culture in Nicosia European orchestras North Nicosia Organisations based in Northern Cyprus

See also

References