Borusan Istambul Philharmonic
(c) Özge Balkan
The Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra (BIPO) is celebrating its 25th anniversary. According to a news release, the orchestra that has shared the stage with nearly 40 guest conductors and over 500 soloists in its performances. It will go on a five-concert tour in the U.K. and release an album to mark its 25th anniversary.
« We began our journey 25 years ago with the dream of Ahmet Kocabıyık. We are happy and proud. BIPO is a talented and passionate ensemble. As long as it continues its work with the same enthusiasm and determination, it will exist as a symphonic group that is mentioned with pride. BIPO’s 25-year success is also a gift to Borusan, which stands behind the orchestra with belief and determination as it celebrates its 80th anniversary, » said Zeynep Hamedi, the chair of the Borusan Kocabıyık Foundation.
The history of the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra goes back to the Borusan Chamber Orchestra, which was the first cultural initiative of Borusan Holding. Celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, the efforts within the industrial group Borusan efforts to establish an orchestra began in 1993 and were finalized in 1999 with the creation of the private Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra (BİFO). Since then, its conductors included Gürer Aykal, Sascha Goetzel and Carlo Tenan. Following Goetzel who worked between 2009 and 2020, Tenan took on the roles of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor last season.
Primarily playing concerts in Istanbul, BIPO has also performed in many other Turkish cities as well as in Salzburg, Montpellier, Athens, Vienna, Friedrichshafen, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Hong Kong, Stuttgart, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Zurich, Ljubljana and Essen.
