A Turk in America ISSA Sonus Ensemble & Münir Beken

• Münir Beken (b. 1964):
• 1Memories of a Shoehorn: No. 1, Moderato08:56
• 2Memories of a Shoehorn: No. 2, Andante07:45
• 3Pottery Shards06:36
• 4Holes in the Japanese Lamp12:07
• 5Piano Sonata08:59
• 6A Turk in Seattle09:43
• Total Runtime54:06

Info for A Turk in America

Munir Nurettin Beken has won awards for his film and television scores both domestically and internationally. He resides in Los Angeles where he directs the UCLA World Music Center. A native of Istanbul, he was one of the founding members of the State Turkish Music Ensemble. An outstanding Turkish ud virtuoso he has toured as recitalists throughout Europe and the US. The New York based ISSA Novus Ensemble presents for the first time on record five of Beken’s exciting and colorful chamber compositions. These include Pottery Shards, Holes in the Japanese Lamp, Sonata for Piano and A Turk in Seattle. Beken joins the ensemble performing the ud part in Memories of a Shoehorn, the album’s opening number.

Laura Falzon, flute, direction
Emily Ondracek, violin
Erik Petersen, viola
Moran Katz, clarinet
Adrian Daurov, cello
Munir Beken, oud
Aysegul Durakoglu, piano

ISSA Sonus Ensemble
Dedicated to performing, promoting and presenting 20th and 21st century music, New York based ISSA Sonus Ensemble was established in 2008.

“Issa” is a Maltese word meaning “now”. ISSA Sonus is committed to promoting the music of today. By presenting contemporary works alongside works from earlier music periods and canonical works, ISSA Sonus aims to better connect to today’s audiences and foster an appreciation of the music of our time.

Bringing together a vibrant group of performers and composers, ISSA Sonus is a flexible ensemble whose musicians hail from renowned conservatories and universities. Individually, members have performed worldwide as soloists and members of orchestras and ensembles.

With a rich repertoire that includes numerous premieres, ISSA Sonus is passionate for the development and advocacy of new music. Many of their concerts expand classical chamber music to include music that crosses boundaries in terms of culture, style and tradition. Concerts have included performances with non-western instrumentalists such as their New York Premiere of Memories of a Shoehorn with Turkish oud player Munir Nurettin Beken.

Laura Falzon
has performed throughout the United States, Europe and Asia as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. Praised by the Musical Times magazine for her "versatile technique", by the British Flute Society's PAN Magazine for her passionate interest in contemporary flute music describing her as “fearless in tackling and promoting it", and hailed by the Music & Musicians as “an excellent instrumentalist", Dr. Falzon, an ardent advocate of contemporary music, has premiered numerous works written for her ranging from the conventional flute solo to works with non-western instruments like the zheng, African drums and tabla. Padma Phool is one such work written for her by the Anglo-Indian composer John Mayer (mostly known as the founder of Indo-Jazz Fusion and, in the flute world, for his flute Concerto for Sir James Galway). Amongst the list of works premiered are works by composers like Shirish Korde, Alvin Singleton, Mohammed Fairouz, Charles Camilleri, Akin Euba and Geoff Poole. The recipient of numerous awards, she has received grants from, amongst others, The British Arts Council, The Scottish Arts Council, The Rockefeller Foundation, Cambridge University, NY Women Composers, Rotary Foundation, and Columbia University. A graduate of Columbia University (Masters and Doctorate), she also studied in England with Royal Academy of Music professor and principal flutist of the London Sinfonietta Sebastian Bell and with Julius Baker, Susan Milan and Kim McCormick. Up until 2004 she was based in the UK, previous to which she was co-principal flute with the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Malta. She is a founding member and artistic director of Id-Dinja ensemble and ISSA Sonus ensemble and teaches at the City College of New York, and at Columbia University’s Teachers College in NYC.

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