Interview: Sam Sultan, İrem Arslan, Zeynep Ece Yazıcıoğlu, Josilyn Markel of CHROMAS CHOIR at Virtual Platform

Chromas Choir is one of the most innovative and pioneer choirs both on the national and international platforms. They have established their worth many times over time by the projects and standardized quality of their work. We had a chance to interview virtually with some of the members during these challenging times, to create a platform for the audience to learn more about them!

WHO IS CHROMAS?

Founded in 2015 by Başak Doğan. Chromas means "colors," is comprised of members hailing from various cities, backgrounds, and walks of life. Each member is like a unique color. This diversity is reflected in their colorful repertoire, too: a wide range of music from contemporary jazz to folk arrangements, bringing together various languages and genres. In doing this, they embody the polyphonic, diverse, and colorful culture of Eurasia. When they sing and improvise together, they experience a unique and profound peace. Chromas is always in pursuit of creating a new musical and performance ideas, with the goal of increasing the interest in choral music in Turkey. Being one of the pioneers of choir music in Turkey; Chromas participated in various prestigious events such as Choralies (2016), France; World Choral Symposium (2017), Spain, Chromas continues representing Turkey internationally.

WHO IS BAŞAK DOĞAN?

Founding Artistic Director

After finishing her master's in Philosophy of Music at Bogazici University in Istanbul, she is currently getting her second master's degree in Rhythmic Choral Conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, Denmark. Here she combined her passion for pop & jazz music with her deep interest in folk music and created a unique way of leading choirs. As a versatile conductor, she appears at numerous choral events, leading singers from all age groups. She won many prizes globally while conducting the Bogazici University Jazz Choir. Her enthusiasm for expressing her own cultural background in music and for bringing the choral world together made her known as a pioneer of rhythmic choral music. Today she explores more choral music with her well-known choir "Chromas", and she frequently gets invited as guest conductor by many other choirs and leading ateliers.

VOCAL PAINTING AND CHROMAS

The conductor Başak Doğan is the first Turkish student to be accepted to the Danish Royal Conservatory; she completed her Masters in 2018 with full marks and honors. At the same time, she has become the first and only conductor in Turkey to learn, teach, apply, and perform with brand new methods of choral conducting and improvisation, which originally hail from Scandinavia. These "Rhythmic Choir" and "Intelligent Choir" methods focus on each individual existing in every moment, listing to the surrounding environment, concentrating on each unit of rhythm and the music that exists within it, and deepening the community of the choir. Chromas is the first choir in Turkey to apply these disciplines.

Chromas are also the only choir in Turkey to use VOPA (Vocal Painting) for improvisation. VOPA is a system of non-verbal communication that allows the singers and the conductor to improvise freely while also harmonizing with the rest of the choir. With VOPA, Chromas are able to create excellent music with as many people as Chromas like, including entire audiences!

PROJECTS

Fiddler on the Roof

Fiddler on the Roof (Damdaki Kemancı) is Turkey's first locally-produced musical, staged by Zorlu PSM and starring Binnur Kaya and Mehmet Ali Kaptanlar. Chromas serves as the musical's choir, where Chromas get to sing and act as part of the cast.

Bobby McFerrin & Gimme5 ft. Chromas

Chromas was honored to perform with 10-time Grammy winner vocal virtuoso Bobby McFerrin (best known for his hit "Don't Worry Be Happy") and his group Gimme5 at the Zorlu PSM Jazz Festival. It was a special evening full of energy and harmony! This was the first "Circlesongs" concert performed in Turkey; the entire concert was improvised at the moment, and the music affected us just as much as it did the audience!

Chromas Europe Tour

From 5 -12 June, Chromas took a colorful journey to Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Nijmegen, Berlin, and Vienna at the invitation of choir friends across Europe. In each city, Chromas joined together with the greatest and most important choirs of the city; Chromas organized workshops, taught Turkish rhythms and melodies to their international choir friends, and performed concerts in some of the most impressive venues in Europe.

Ayvalık International Choir Festival

2018 saw the first International Choir Festival in Ayvalik, thanks to the voluntary work of Chromas' chorists. 16 choirs, 10 workshop conductors, hundreds of singers, and three thousand spectators participated in the festival from 4 -9 September. Ayvalik Municipality, Koton, Coca Cola Company, Migros, and many local businesses supported the success of the festival.

RetroKoro

Their main project of 2018 was RetroKoro, where Chromas arranged and performed Turkish pop songs of the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Chromas pack Uniq Hall Istanbul with an audience of 2,000 people who enjoyed a unique concert experience that combined a cappella music with the nostalgia, familiarity, and fun of retro pop music! All of the songs in the RetroKoro repertoire were arranged by Başak Doğan and the members of Chromas.

22. Choralies Choir Festival @France

Chromas is proud and glad to have been a part of Europe's most prestigious and well-attended choir festival! For the past 60 years, 4500 musicians have come together every summer at this festival, where they represent their own cultures on this international platform. In 2016, Chromas were selected from over 150 choirs to give a concert at the festival; this opportunity was only given to a total of 10 choirs.

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Questions;

1. Chromas choir was found in 2015, can you tell us more about the journey so far?
2. What is the identity, vision, and mission, Chromas' embedding?
3. The "Chromas" indicates colors; what does chromas mean to you?
4. Can you tell us more about "vocal painting"?
5. How did Covid-19 effect your rehearsals and projects?
6. How do your crew and choir members spend their time during quarantine?
7. What do you think about "Globalization" and how do you see 'Chromas' fit in it?
8. Can you tell us more about the online-performance you have presented? How the rehearsals were held, how the song was edited, what were the technological burdens you have faced?
9. What did Chromas bring into your life?
10. Can you try to summarize your experience with Chromas so far?
11. What was the unforgettable moment from your Chromas memories?
12. What are your suggestions and/or advice for future members?
13. How would you like to address your current and future supporters?

You may reach the responses from;

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgDGHINAx11JD7rwstITXTHSwq-Hog-gD

Interviewers;

Sam Sultan, bass, 34 years old, an engineer and a researcher, studying currently in ITU, and has been a member with Chromas since September 2019.

İrem Arslan, soprano, from Antalya, Digital Strategist, and Musician, has been in Chromas for 5 years.

Zeynep Ece Yazıcıoğlu, soprano, 24 years old, from Istanbul. Graduated from Koc University and has been working as a consultant for a collaboration of big four companies. Has been in Chromas for approximately 4 years now.

Josilyn Markel, alto, 26 years old, and from Istanbul. Teacher at a university in Istanbul. Has been singing with Chromas for about 3 and a half years, and loving every bit of it.

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