ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey has launched a project to conserve an ancient Armenian cathedral and church in what is seen as a gesture of reconciliation toward its neighbor.

Turkey and Armenia have been locked in a bitter dispute for decades over the mass killings of Armenians in Turkey in the last years of the Ottoman Empire. Efforts to normalize relations have been dealt a setback by the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan is a close Muslim ally of Turkey.

Turkey, however, says it is committed to improving ties with Armenia, and has already restored the 10th century Akdamar church, perched on a rocky island in Lake Van in eastern Turkey. It has also allowed once-yearly worship at the site as a gesture to Armenia and its own ethnic Armenian minority.

"Harmony Iraq", an Open Goldberg Project, is using the fundraising website Kickstarter to help send young Iraqi musicians to an intensive 2-week summer orchestra camp. The goals of the Kickstarter project include filming the orchestra for a multimedia DVD, and raising money to help directly finance the orchestra. Supporters include Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Master of the Queen's Music.

The National Youth Orchestra of Iraq (NYOI) consists of musicians from all ethnic and religious backgrounds. They come together each summer for  two weeks of intense musical training, learning to trust each other and work together.

A teaser video featuring footage from 2009 and 2010, as well as an interview from Sir Peter Mawell Davies, can be seen on the project's Kickstarter page.

The American Turkish Society's fifth Arif Mardin Music Fellowship has been awarded to Emir Demirdag, a 19-year-old percussionist from Mersin, Turkey. Emir will be attending the Five-Week Summer Performance Program at Berklee College of Music taking place July 9 - August 12, 2011.  

Throughout his high school career, Emir, who taught himself to play the drums with only the aid of instructional DVDs and books, enjoyed remarkable local and national success in Turkey. He is the recipient of his high school's "Best Music Student" and "Most Promising Musician" awards, and has won numerous titles from local talent shows. Most significantly, out of 2,500 bands, Emir's band qualified for the semi-final of the nationwide "Fanta Stage Music Contest for Amateur Rock Musicians."

On behalf of The American Turkish Society, we congratulate Emir and wish him success this summer at Berklee College of Music.

ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP
Launched by The American Turkish Society in memory of Arif Mardin (1932-2006), world-renowned producer/arranger and vice chairman of the organization for many years, the Arif Mardin Music Fellowship aims to further the education of promising musicians from Turkey and give them a chance to study in the United States. The program is conducted in partnership with Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, where Mardin's successful music career began as the first recipient of the Quincy Jones Scholarship. Past recipients of the Fellowship, from earliest to most recent, include Sirma Munyar (piano/vocal), Canberk Kargi (drums), Erol Balci (guitar) and Olgun Acar (percussion).