Yunus Emre InstituteOn the evening of 30 April 2025, Yunus Emre Enstitüsü – London welcomed audiences to a richly woven musical experience led by internationally acclaimed oboist Damla Tuncer. Held under the title A Journey Through Time with the Oboe, the event was more than a concert—it was an intimate exploration of sound, history, and cultural connection through the distinctive voice of the oboe.
The evening unfolded as a guided tour across musical epochs and geographies. From the intricate counterpoint of the Renaissance to the evocative lyricism of the Romantic era, and from the buoyant syncopations of jazz to the spiritual resonance of Turkish classical music, Tuncer curated a programme that was both educational and immersive. Each piece was introduced with contextual commentary, allowing the audience to engage not only with the music, but with the stories and sensibilities that shaped it.
Damla Tuncer opened the concert with a personal reflection on her journey as a musician—beginning with her early decision to pursue the oboe, through her years of study across Europe, to her global career as a performer and educator. Her account offered a compelling insight into the discipline and imagination required to master an instrument as exacting and expressive as the oboe.
She then offered a short introduction to the instrument itself, tracing its evolution and its ability to traverse musical traditions—from Western orchestras to Ottoman court music. With grace and clarity, she invited listeners into the unique tonal world of the oboe: reedy, piercing, and unexpectedly lyrical.
The programme featured a wide-ranging repertoire, including works by John Dowland, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Scott Joplin, Astor Piazzolla, Ekrem Zeki Ün, and Ennio Morricone. Each selection was chosen to highlight the oboe’s versatility and to draw unexpected lines of continuity between distant musical worlds.
As the concert progressed, the evening took on a quietly transformative quality. Music became a lens through which history could be heard and felt—its moments of joy, melancholy, longing, and hope resonating in shared silence. In a city as fast-moving as London, the performance offered a rare space for stillness and reflection.
The final part of the evening was reserved for an open Q&A, where audience members engaged directly with Tuncer, asking questions about performance technique, musical interpretation, and the intersections of culture and sound. The conversation added an additional layer of depth to a night already rich in meaning.
Currently based in London, Damla Tuncer combines her work as a musician with her practice as a certified Alexander Technique teacher—an approach that informed not only her performance, but her poise, presence, and sensitivity on stage.
Through the oboe’s solitary yet soaring voice, the evening became a reflection on time, memory, and the universal language of music—an experience that reminded all present of the quiet power of artistic connection across cultures.