Concert: Melodica & Guitar – A Fusion of Cultures

🎶 Concert: Melodica & Guitar – A Fusion of Cultures

📅 Date: 13 June 2025
🕖 Time: 6:30 PM
📍 Venue: Yunus Emre Enstitüsü – London, 10 Maple Street, W1T 5HA

Yunus Emre Institute is pleased to present Melodica & Guitar: A Fusion of Cultures, a concert featuring Turkish composer and melodica performer Efe Yüksel and Singaporean composer and guitarist Goi Ywei Chern.

Currently both pursuing doctoral studies in composition at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Yüksel and Chern bring together their distinct cultural backgrounds and artistic voices in this nearly one-hour programme. The concert explores cultural hybridity and musical storytelling through a rare instrumental pairing: melodica and classical guitar.

The evening will feature original duo compositions written specifically for this performance, as well as imaginative arrangements of folk melodies from Türkiye, Singapore, and China. Each performer will also present a contemporary solo work, culminating in a collaborative interpretation of the ancient Seikilos Epitaph — believed to be the oldest surviving complete musical composition.

By blending traditional material with contemporary sensibilities, Yüksel and Chern offer an immersive, cross-cultural musical experience that reflects the global nature of today’s creative practice.

🎵 The Programme Includes:

• Overcooked Menu Music (arr. Yüksel)

• Qart Hadasht (Chern)

• Two Turkish Folk Songs (arr. Yüksel: Havada Bulut Yok, İzmir Marşı)

• Two New Duo Compositions (Yüksel & Chern)

• Two Singaporean/Chinese Folk Songs (arr. Chern)

• Seikilos Epitaph (arr. Yüksel & Chern)

🎟 Admission: Early registration is strongly advised due to limited capacity.

About the Performers
Efe Yüksel
Efe Yüksel is an İzmir-born, London-based composer, electronic musician, and performer. He is currently undertaking doctoral studies in composition at the Guildhall School of Music, following undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the same institution under the guidance of Julian Anderson and Aaron Einbond. His research investigates ways of thinking about musical structure through the organisation of inharmonic sonorities.

Yüksel’s work often explores the physical capabilities of instruments, integrating them with live signal processing. Alongside composing, he is active as a melodica performer, regularly commissioning and premiering new works for the instrument. His studies are supported by The Guildhall Trust, Talent Unlimited, and the Eczacıbaşı Foundation.

Goi Ywei Chern
Goi Ywei Chern is a Singaporean composer and guitarist currently based in London. He is pursuing a DMus (Composition) degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, supervised by Professors Richard Baker, Matt Kaner, and Julian Anderson.

He has received awards including First Prize in the 11th International Antonin Dvorak Composition Competition (2023) and the Leong Yoon Pin Composition Competition (2016). His music has been performed in Singapore, London, Leeds, Bangkok, and Ayrshire. Goi holds a Diploma in Music Performance from NAFA and a First-Class Honours degree from the NAFA–Royal College of Music (RCM) programme. He later completed a Master’s in Composition at the Royal College of Music with Distinction.

As a guitarist, Goi studied under Manuel Cabrera II and Hunter Mah, and his composition mentors include Dr. Zechariah Goh, Professor Kenneth Hesketh, and Professor Alison Kay. He also performs in the chamber duo Duo Flore with flautist Jess McNulty.

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

IMPORTANT NOTES

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.