Music Across Borders Session 3: The Aegean

The archival photograph features Tanburi Refik Fersan, Deniz Kızı Eftalya, and Sadi Işılay performing together.

Join the third session of Music Across Borders, a Listening Club series exploring the musical connections between Türkiye and its cultural neighbours. Moderated by musicologist and pianist Prof. Dr Mine Doğantan-Dack, this session invites participants on a listening journey across the Aegean, tracing shared musical landscapes between Türkiye and Greece and across the sunlit islands of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Session III — The Aegean explores the deeply intertwined musical traditions of the region while reflecting on the spirit of the Aegean’s cherished ethos of “slow living.” Together, participants will travel along the legendary Turkish Turquoise Coast, the enchanting Greek islands, Selanik (Thessaloniki), Çanakkale (Dardanelles), and Cyprus, listening to musical traditions shaped by centuries of cultural encounter across the sea.

Along the way, the session will explore examples from Rebetiko, Amanes, Zeybek, Karşılama, and Laïko traditions, brought to life by legendary musicians loved on both sides of the Aegean. These include figures such as Yorgo Bacanos, Eftalya Işılay, Roza Eskenazi, Markos Vamvakaris, Stelios Kazantzidis, Zülfü Livaneli, Mikis Theodorakis, Manos Hadjidakis, Candan Erçetin, and Nana Mouskouri.

Participants will also listen to unforgettable melodies from film and popular music that have shaped the region’s shared musical imagination—from the famous sirtaki of Zorba the Greek to beloved songs by Demis Roussos, Georges Moustaki, George Dalaras, Sezen Aksu, Ajda Pekkan, and Emel Sayın.

Guided by Prof. Dr Mine Doğantan-Dack, the session is based on close listening and reflection, supported by visual materials such as maps, videos, and instrument guides. Through attentive listening, participants will discover how music has travelled across the Aegean for generations, creating a rich network of shared sounds, stories, and emotional landscapes.

Session III — The Aegean
Date: Friday, 27 March
Time: 6:00 pm
Venue: Yunus Emre Enstitüsü, 10 Maple Street, W1T 5HA

Limited spaces. Turkish Coffee and Aegean delicacies will be served.

Explore the curated listening list and playlist for this session here:

No musical training required – open to all music lovers and curious listeners.

This session is part of a six-session Listening Club series exploring musical cultures across the Balkans, the Levant, the Aegean, Persia, the Turkic world, and the Ottoman musical sphere. For more info please click here!

For more information on the event, please email us at londra@yee.org.tr

IMPORTANT NOTES

This in-person event is open to participants aged 16 and above.

Please note that this event is first come first served and may be overbooked. To avoid disappointment, please arrive early and secure your seat. If you have registered but are unable to attend, please cancel your ticket to allow others to join. Thank you for your cooperation.

Please be advised that filming and/or photography will be taking place at the event for the purposes of archiving, marketing, and all other publications. By entering this event, you consent to the Yunus Emre Institute taking photographs and videos and using them.