Göker and Jenkins perform in Turkish presidential memorial
Bonnie Alger
Issue date: 1/20/06 Section: Features
Violinist Burcu Göker and pianist Eric Jenkins, both juniors, are already establishing themselves in the professional
music world. The pair made a portfolio last spring that contained sample concert programs and CDs and DVDs of their musical work. The portfolio
had information on both of them, ranging from competitions they had won to their academic backgrounds. They sent these folders to music festivals all over in an attempt to get performance opportunities
- something that can be hard to come by when you are busily balancing a college student's life with a budding professional career. They were successful.
In late November, Göker and Jenkins received an invitation
to perform at the memorial service for Ismet Inönü, the second president of Göker's native Turkey. They were the only two musicians
selected to perform. Göker and Jenkins' folder had ended up in the hands of the editor of the Turkish counterpart
of Reader's Digest, and he was so taken with the duo that he helped organize the service and offered to pay the expenses - including airfare, hotel and meals in Turkey. Göker said, "[He's] a really good journalist, 40 years in the news field; [he] interviewed [Maria] Callas at the beginning of his career." She remembers watching him on television
when she was a child.
Right after finals, Göker and Jenkins flew to Istanbul, arriving on Dec. 12 where they stayed for a week. From Istanbul the pair flew to Ankara, Turkey's capital. The day after arriving at the airport, the two checked out the concert hall they were to be performing in and were delighted to find it had favorable acoustics.
During their stay in Turkey, Göker and Jenkins were the focus of lots of media attention. The memorial service
was televised, a fact Göker was informed of prior to the event, and which she kept from Jenkins. "I knew Eric would be so nervous if he knew about the cameras!" she said. The day of the service, Jenkins asked, "Why are there so many cameras?" to which Goöker replied, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you; it will be live on TV!" The two presented
music world. The pair made a portfolio last spring that contained sample concert programs and CDs and DVDs of their musical work. The portfolio
had information on both of them, ranging from competitions they had won to their academic backgrounds. They sent these folders to music festivals all over in an attempt to get performance opportunities
- something that can be hard to come by when you are busily balancing a college student's life with a budding professional career. They were successful.
In late November, Göker and Jenkins received an invitation
to perform at the memorial service for Ismet Inönü, the second president of Göker's native Turkey. They were the only two musicians
selected to perform. Göker and Jenkins' folder had ended up in the hands of the editor of the Turkish counterpart
of Reader's Digest, and he was so taken with the duo that he helped organize the service and offered to pay the expenses - including airfare, hotel and meals in Turkey. Göker said, "[He's] a really good journalist, 40 years in the news field; [he] interviewed [Maria] Callas at the beginning of his career." She remembers watching him on television
when she was a child.
Right after finals, Göker and Jenkins flew to Istanbul, arriving on Dec. 12 where they stayed for a week. From Istanbul the pair flew to Ankara, Turkey's capital. The day after arriving at the airport, the two checked out the concert hall they were to be performing in and were delighted to find it had favorable acoustics.
During their stay in Turkey, Göker and Jenkins were the focus of lots of media attention. The memorial service
was televised, a fact Göker was informed of prior to the event, and which she kept from Jenkins. "I knew Eric would be so nervous if he knew about the cameras!" she said. The day of the service, Jenkins asked, "Why are there so many cameras?" to which Goöker replied, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you; it will be live on TV!" The two presented