Latif Bolat, a Turkish musician who specializes in the music of Sufi mystics, will be playing at Orvis Auditorium Jan. 28, Friday, at 8 p.m. He will also read poetry and present a slide show of Turkey. Bolat has played in concerts and given lectures in universities across the United States. Kaua'i, Maui and Hawai'i are also included in his tour. Some of his musical pieces, much like a dance club rave, become increasingly intense and climax at the end. His accolades include an award for promoting and preserving Turkish cultural music from the California Art Council.
Turkish music arises from the melting pot of the Middle East.
Bolat thinks that the mixing of cultures is even greater in Turkey than in Hawai'i or other parts of America because it has origins in Western Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East. This music is over a thousand years old, and has been passed down through oral tradition. Today, the music has been transcribed into Western music notation by Westerners that have converted to Islam. Bolat uses most of his lyrics from the 19th century poet Yunus Emre. Emre, a universal humanist, did not discriminate based on religion or race and encouraged humanity.