Two of Cyprus’ best known contemporary artists, Umut Albayrak and Koulis Albayrak, will be performing in North London next week.
The concert will feature popular folk songs in Greek and Turkish, celebrating the shared culture of the small Eastern Mediterranean island.
Both Albayrak and Albayrak are committed peace activists, who recently sang together in support of a united Cyprus in the UN Buffer Zone in Nicosia. The event in January, organised by Peace Generation United by Hope, took place on the eve of the Geneva Conference, and brought hundreds of people from both sides of the divided island together to urge the two Cypriot leaders on in their bid to find a comprehensive political solution to the decades-old conflict.
Next Friday’s concert at St Monica’s Hall will be carrying the same message to London’s large Cypriot Diaspora: ‘together for peace’.
Concert tickets are priced £10 – see below for details of where to buy them.
About Umut Albayrak
Turkish Cypriot Dr. Umut Albayrak is a performing artist and an academic in the Music Department of the Eastern Mediterranean University in Cyprus.
She started her musical education at a young age, learning to sing and play the piano and violin. She continued her music studies at Izmir Dokuz Eylül University, where she also completed her Masters Degree and PhD studies.
Since 2002, multi-instrumentalist Albayrak has performed different styles of music in many languages in venues around the world, playing alongside both fellow Cypriot and international artists, as well as a soloist.
She regularly contributes to social responsibility projects and helps charities through concerts and, in one project, provided a track featured on a compilation album whose profits went to an educational foundation she supports.
Together with her father Dr. Arif Albayrak, she produced a spoken work and music album. Following her debut release Umut [‘Hope’], she is currently working on her second solo album.
About Koulis Theodorou
Koulis Theodorou was born in Nicosia, Cyprus. The multifarious world of music gave him the opportunity to find artistic expression in a variety of fields: as a performer, composer, and producer.
Apart from his independent projects as a songwriter, he has composed music for TV productions, theatre performances, and motion pictures.
As a performer, Theodorou has given many concerts in Cyprus and abroad, presenting works by Cypriot composers. He has also staged performances dedicated to creators whose works have marked Greek discography.
Concert details
Title: Together for Peace: Concert for Cyprus
Date: Friday 17th February 2017
Starts: doors open 7.15pm, concert starts 8pm
Venue address: Intimate Theatre (St. Monica’s Hall), 521 Green Lanes, Palmers Green, London N13 4DH
Admission: £10
Tickets: Ertanch Hidayettin (0774 224 5503); Kyriacos Panayi (0779 876 3713)
