Turkish Canadian Cultural Association

Minor Empire nominated for Indie Music Awards Online voting is now open Turkish-infused Toronto-based musical ensemble, Minor Empire, has been nominated for the “World Artist of the Year” in Canada’s annual Independent Music Awards, the SiriusXM Indies. To vote for Minor Empire in “World Artist” category, go to: www.indies.ca/voting Feel free to forward this email to your friends and help spread the word.

The group, which is known for their unique blend of traditional Turkish music with psychedelic rock, electronica and jazz, will be competing against four other acts for the prize including solo artists Kiran Ahluwalia and Aline Morales. Minor Empire released their debut album “Second Nature” to great critical acclaim in early 2011 with glowing reviews from international publications such as Songlines and World Music Central. Last December the band received the World Group Award at the annual Canadian Folk Music Awards. The winners of this year’s Indie awards will be announced on March 24 at a ceremony at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

After the great concert they gave here at the NAC on December 2, Minor Empire won the "World Group Artist of the Year" at the 2011 Canadian Folk Music Awards. Congratulations!You can find more information on this link.

We have ended our fund raising campaign that we had launched for those effected in the recent Van Earthquake. Thank you all for your contribution. Because of your generous donations, we have raised a total of 1475 CAD. The cash donations were 685 CAD, and donations though PayPal were 790 CAD.
 
This amount has been deposited into the Turkish Red Crescent Society's account 6252868 at Garanti Bank, with the wiring expenses paid by the TCCA. Those who wish to get a copy of the wire transfer receipt can email admin@turk.ca.

On Saturday, October 29, the TCCA held a flag-raising ceremony at the Ottawa City Hall to celebrate the Turkish Republic Day. The ceremony started with a moment of silence for those who lost their lives in the recent earthquake in Van, Turkey, and was followed by the Turkish and Canadian national anthems. His Honour Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson came to the podium to proclaim October 29, 2011, to be the Turkish Republic Day in the City of Ottawa, and presented the TCCA the official letter of proclamation. The ceremony ended with remarks from Deputy Chief of Mission of the Turkish Embassy Serdar Belentepe. 

As you all may know by now, Eastern Turkey was hit by a large earthquake of magnitude 7.2 on October 23rd. This earthquake devastated the province of Van, where many buildings were demolished with many people buried under the ruins.

We, as the Turkish Canadian Cultural Association, have started a campaign to help the ones in need in that region. We have contacted the authorities in Turkey to direct our help through the proper channels.

To keep everything transparent we have integrated a PayPal donation system in to our web site. We will try to collect as much donations as possible until November 7th, 2011. The donations then will be transferred to the Turkish Redcross agency.

Your generosity will be appreciated.

Turkish kanun artist Mr. Tahir Aydoğdu will be performing at the Music and Beyond festival. 

Date and venue

Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at 12.00
Dominion Chalmers United Church, 355 Cooper St., Ottawa
For Information: http://www.musicandbeyond.ca

Tahir Aydoğdu

Born in 1959 in Istanbul into a family with strong musical background, Mr. Aydoğdu is a world renowned kanun player. He has performed in more than 50 countries from USA to Japan; received various awards; recorded 24 albums in his homeland and abroad; taught at universities and amateur choirs; founded several ensembles. Having written an original kanun method, he raised many students. Being a successful performer of not only his native music, but also many world music genres, He is kanun player at the Ankara Radio of TRT (Turkish Radio Television)

The joint Ottawa Turkish Music Ensemble&Montreal Turkish Music Choir will present their annual classical Turkish music concert conducted by one of Turkey’s well known musicians, Ismail Hakki Fencioglu and his orchestra. The concert will take place at the University of Ottawa Alumni Auditorium, on Saturday April 30th, 2011 at 8:30 PM. Have a joyful time with the rich band and the choir.

Address:
University of Ottawa
Alumni Theatre
85 University Private 
Jock-Turcot Building

Admission:
$20.00 
Tickets: 
613 596 0423
613 820 3906

http://www.turkishmusicottawa.com

Toronto-based music band Minor Empire's new album, Second Nature, was ranked #1 on National Campus and Community Radio World Music Chart. Click here for more information.
You can listen to demo songs and purchase the Second Nature album on iTunes, Amazon or CD Baby.

We are very pleased to announce that our new website is now online. Beside its new look, our new website is leveraging a totally renewed infrastructure which will allow us to update it on a regular basis. From now on, our website is the unique place where you can find detailed information about our events and announcements.  Furthermore, we are planning to add some new features in the coming months in order to advertize books, films and music from Turkey.