By Heidi Trautmann

11 piano students and  maestro Rauf Kasimov, their teacher, went for a Sunday outing to Karpaz Marina, along with parents, friends and supporters. It was the splendid idea again by Ayla Iriz, the Maestro’s wife, the soul of the company, and with the help of Irene Marancos from Kaleidoskop who is always present and available when music is involved. It was not the first time, as I heard, every year such an excursion is undertaken for the purpose of the getting together of students and their parents to get to know each other.  The highlight this time was a beautiful white piano placed at the disposal for an impromptu concert in the wide rooms of the Karpaz Marina Restaurant. 

It was a special pleasure for me to have been invited to the event on last Sunday with the most beautiful weather we could have hoped for after the many weeks of cold and rainy days. A stiff wind had blown all clouds away and we enjoyed the costal landscape in bright colours of yellow, green and blue.

The young pianists deserve to be mentioned by name here in the order in which they sat down at the piano and played three pieces each …without any notes…. A good chance to play in front of a very mixed audience and with the activities of a restaurant going on. Until the concert they had the chance to practice their pieces on the white piano and most of them changed into a ‘stage dress’, they looked beautiful.

Georgy Voronov   5 years

Ayse Çubukcu  8 years

Suzan Ballı   8 years

Masal Gül   9 years

Dilara Labutava  13 years

Antonio S. Huges  13 years

Sylvana I. Huges  11 years

İrem Bilen  12 years

Can Sakkaoğlu  12 years

İpek Zorba  20  years (guest)

Pelin Ece Acar  16 years

Boat crews who had their boats in the marina or who lived aboard over winter had come for the occasion, also guests from outside and they all were amazed of the young talents. I greeted Salih Toros, Ünal Dede, Alberto an Italian friend who all made their compliments. Some of the piano students said when asked if music would be their chosen profession: Oh yes, there is nothing else for me.

After the concert we all sat down for a delicious meal with the image of the boats and the blue sea in the wide windows and the satisfied chatter of the youngsters during the meal.

For now nearly 15 years I have been following some of Rauf Kasimov’s students and it has always been an immense pleasure to watch them grow in every respect and I can only repeat saying: ‘As long as we have young people like these we still have hope for the future of this world….and teachers who with such compassion and love take care of them….’