Orchestra Campus: Drawing inspiration from Beethoven

22-year-old Esin Yardimli is one of the musicians of the Istanbul University State Conservatory Symphony Orchestra who took part in the Beethovenfest Bonn's Orchestra Campus project. She studies at Istanbul's music conservatory and believes classical music is a sphere in which more emotion can be expressed than in other arts. Music also helps one to understand other forms of art better, she adds.

Burak Dursun, who is 15, saw the trombone in television when he was a child and knew immediately that he wanted to learn to play the instrument. For him, the instrument sounds like the human voice. He was amazed by the public showing on Bonn's market square of the performance of Beethoven's "Fidelio" during the Beethovenfest. "You could see how much Germans like classical music," he said.

When 24-year-old Cagatay Gulec plays the violin, his passion is evident. From the time he was 14, classical music has been the "field from which other styles of music grow." At the Beethovenfest, he said he hoped to pick up something of the proverbial German discipline during his stay.

Toygar Esman is 19 years old and has played the bassoon for the past five years. He was assigned to the instrument when he started studying at conservatory, and took to it immediately. "I like the sound and shape of the bassoon. It's become like a friend to me." He says music is all about emotion for him, and is indescribable. The Beethovenfest represents a chance to learn more for Esman.

19-year-old Ozum Semis says she loves her instrument, the viola, because it brings harmony into the orchestra. "Making music is all I want to do," she says. Turkish classical music is more popular than Western music in Turkey, she adds, explaining that's why she absorbed as much as she could at the Beethovenfest.

Alikaan Uysal, who's 20, has been playing percussion since he was 14. He says he brings all of his emotions to his music when he's playing. "Then I feel rhythm in my heart," he says. "It's wonderful to experience that in front of a German audience, too."

Banu Kara, 20 years old, discovered the bassoon at the age of 11. She's been in love with the instrument ever since, and knew even as a child that she wanted to become a musician. She couldn't live without music, she says: "My dream is to become a soloist one day, but I would also like to become a teacher."

20-year-old Can Davran started playing the clarinet three years ago. "When I hear the sound of the instrument, it sparks my imagination," he says. The highlight of the Beethovenfest for him was the outdoor screening of the "Fidelio" performance. "Turkish people don't know much about classical music or Beethoven. Our mission is to take some of that back to our country," he said.