Can you tell us about how the idea of having a jazz major was conceived and achieved through great effort and patience?
I graduated from the conservatoire in Turkey and continued my education in classical music in Holland and America. I had the opportunity to study jazz in addition to the classical Western music classes I took during my education. I have been teaching at the conservatoire since I returned to Turkey in 1985. It has always been my dream to create opportunities, experiences, and environments similar to the one I experienced abroad. Our conservatoire has an established past and taught many artists. There has always been a comprehensive program on classical Western music there, but I have always been wondering about why there wasn’t a jazz program. This idea formed in my head years prior to the actual establishment of the program and grew step by step in the academic environment through the support we received.
The first steps of the establishment of the jazz major problem in Istanbul University’s State Conservatoire were the ideas and initiative I took with late Prof. Müfit Bayraşa, who was the school director at that time. The process started with the meetings and applications we lodged with the university through the many efforts of the directors and faculty members; we got all the necessary permits. Prof. Dr. Gülden Teztel, Prof. Dr. Müge Hendekli and Prof. Evrim Demirel joined the faculty and became our core members. We started our first academic year, which was 2017-2018. We worked with Şenova Ülker, Ece Göksu, Eylül Biçer, Ekin Cengizkan, Serhan Erkol and Maarten Weyler during this first year. A couple of our teachers left the faculty later on. Then we were joined by Kağan Yıldız, Can Çankaya, Baturay Yarkın and Danny Fratina. In addition, faculty members from other departments also teach classes in our curriculum. We gave our first graduates last year and the academic years are still just as exciting for us as the first one.
Gülden has diligently shouldered the responsibility of overseeing an artistic branch that has been recently added to the university programs as the president. This is an artistic branch that requires much concentration and effort. He recently passed the chair to Prof. Evrim Demirel.
Photo: Aycan Teztel
What kind of a transformation does jazz music becoming a distinct branch of art within the framework of a conservatoire (both globally and domestically) indicate?
Jazz has been a part of conservatoire curricula, just like classical Western music is, as an artistic music genre for a long time. Jazz education followed a mentor-protege system from generation to generation in Turkey. Those who had the means studied abroad. Perspectives and educational systems naturally change and evolve in Turkey just like anywhere else. Such outdated ideas as “playing jazz will affect your hands negatively” left their place to respect, production and support. Even though their numbers are limited, jazz education becoming a part of different universities and conservatoires signals to this great transformation.
Jazz major program gave its first graduates, it must be a great joy. How did you feel?
It is hard to put down our feelings to words… It was a true moment of pride and happiness. Receiving the fruits of so many years of effort has been a turning point for many of our faculty members. The tears shed by many of them were the greatest expression of this. We are eagerly expecting to see many more graduates in the upcoming years.
How were you affected by the moving of the Conservatoire to its recent place?
As most of you know, the conservatoire will be moving from its campus in Kadıköy Dock. This building is undergoing renovations; we were told that the venue will serve as the Haldun Taner Stage in the future. The conservatoire will move to a new building behind the Türkan Saylan Cultural Center in Maltepe at the end of November. The internal renovations are still ongoing so I will let you know when they are done.
Photo: Aycan Teztel
What are the necessities of a conservatoire when an education on jazz is concerned and how should these be arranged? What are your most basic and indispensable requirements?
Halls that are suitable for collective performances are required for ensemble classes in addition to classrooms with drums, guitar and bass amplifiers as well as pianos for individual classes. These classrooms need permanent pianos, drums, amplifiers, mixers and microphones. Computers with recording programs and sound cards are necessary for both recording and teaching. Projection devices and speakers are often used during theory classes as well.
Who will join the faculty in the new academic year?
Prof. Dr. Gülden Teztel and Prof. Evrim Demirel are members of the faculty. Eylül Biçer is the research assistant and Danny Fratina is a foreign member of the faculty. Prof. Dr. Müge Hendekli and I assign teachers from other art branches and provide support to jazz this way.
Some of the most esteemed jazz musicians in Turkey, Şenova Ülker, Ece Göksu, Can Çankaya, Kağan Yıldız, Ekin Cengizkan and Baturay Yarkın are paid members of the teaching staff and contribute greatly and devotedly to our higher level of education.
Dear Harun İzer, the director of IKSV Jazz Festival, is another supporter. We have members from other departments that lend a helping hand such as Uğur Yeniyol, Sitare Bilge and Tansu Timur Erkoç.
What classes will be included as required courses for the jazz major? What are the most important classes that are required?
The jazz program offers vocal, piano, trumpet, trombone, saxophone, double bass, guitar, bass guitar and drum classes majors. In addition, there are mandatory classes such as ensemble, ear training, jazz harmony, jazz history, jazz choir, jazz arrangement, style analysis, finishing project, workshops and computerized music. Electives include accompanying piano, music business management, introduction to recording technologies, writing lyrics, singing methods. In addition, psychology of performance, mythology, theories of Turkish music, philosophy of art and aesthetics, world music cultures and many other classes are offered. The mandatory courses are important for an education on jazz, of course, and I believe all of these classes are very important in the growth of the musicianship and intellectual levels of our students.
Photo: Aycan Teztel
All educational systems switched to online classes due to the global pandemic. Can you share your opinions about teaching online? How did this arrangement affect the jazz program?
As we all know, achieving the sound quality and identity of music instruments on an online platform is a problematic subject. It is hard to record and hear the original sounds of instruments even in a million-dollar professional studio which uses the most expensive microphones, sound cards, gadgets that transform analogue sound to digital sound and preamps.
One of the biggest problems in the online system is classes such as Ensemble where students need to make music together. The internet speed and quality of the students aren’t always suitable to handle online classes. It is especially hard to teach the beginner students the details about their instruments especially if they are younger. Some of our students studying the drums had challenges to find spaces where they could practice.
However, their education and progress continued during this long-lasting pandemic was only made a possibility through online classes. We experienced pros of this system as well: The online system makes it very easy to show the students some examples. We will work on closing that gap during this academic year when we are able to have classes in person, because both the students and us, the teachers, miss being in classes so much.
Jazz program includes different levels of education; the certificate program, undergraduate degree and artistic competence. Could you explain about these different programs and their contents, and of course, when will the graduate degree be included among these?
The jazz undergraduate program is a four-year major where students can receive their degree on a variety of areas. The certificate program is a one-year program and is aimed at beginner students who wish to broaden their knowledge on a combination of topics such a theory, ear training and combo group classes. This program also contributes to the students who wish to continue on to the undergraduate program.
Proficiency in Arts classes are listed under the Music major as “Proficiency of Music and Arts”. This program involves other artistic branches under the music department. A student in this program takes common classes aimed at different areas as well as specific classes in their own field. Jazz was added to this program in 2018-2019, meaning this is the first time in Turkey that students educated in the field of jazz can receive a graduate degree in their area of study. Ferit Odman, Ece Göksu, Eylül Biçer, Can Çankaya, Kağan Yıldız, Volkan Topakoğlu, Baturay Yarkın, Hakan Kılıçoğlu, Hakan Kamalı and many other prominent jazz musicians completed their studies in this program and reached to their thesis stage…
