Bilkent Symphony Orchestra was invited to Portugal between December 21-24, 2000 for a series of Christmas concerts.
Lisbon, the capitol of Portugal, hosted the first concert in the ancient theater, "Teatro Tivoli" on December 21. An audience of 1000 people attended as Professor Erol Erdinç, Dean of the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, conducted the concert. The soloists of the concert were soprano Lidija Horvat and baritone Boris Martinavich.
The second concert took place on December 22 in the city of Faro, which is in Algarve, one of the most touristic regions of Portugal. Soloists for the second concert were Yıldız İbrahimova and Olcay Temiz.
On December 23, in the city of Tavira, the final concert in the series was presented in the 350 year old Misercordia Chapel. Soprano Lidija Horvat and baritone Boris Martinavich were again soloists for this concert.
The Portugal tour was the third international tour that BASSO has made. Early concert series were presented in Italy in 1998 and Germany in 2000. In addition, the Bilkent Youth Symphony Orchestra toured Spain for a series of three concerts last year.
Miray Akdağ (COMD/I)
