Concert METU Big Band Con: Ümit Eroğlu, Guest: Yıldız İbrahimova

con: Ümit Eroğlu
v: Yıldız İbrahimova
trp: Tutku Gizem Yazıcı, Beste Naz İnce, Utku Temel, Hasan Meriç Akbaba, Barış Özcan, Emre Özcan,
bsax: Emre Karabıyık,
tsax: Erkin Barış Güngör, Fatih Demiralay, Şevval Arı
asax: Ozan Deniz Özel, Deniz Eren Mol, Bora Dilek
btrb, Cl: Koray Köse       
trb: Suğde Güvenç, Özcan Kaan Güdükler, Uğur Turan
fl: Elif Betül Kulaç, Dilara İrem Şahin, Elif Özsüle, Alyoşa Sezer +v, Zuhal Aydoğan
cl: Alper Akyol  
d: Efe Arabalı, Bora Tunca, Ertuğrul Güner
perc: Cem Batuhan Berkol, Ulaş Akbaş, Yavuz Akdemir
bg: Ömer Gürbüz, Uraz Cömert, Altay Yaman,
g: Levent Güner, Levent Sarı, Fethi Demirören
p, v: Gizem Elif Selçuk
v: Bahar Sökmen, Ceren Bilgin

The Ankara Jazz Festival returns to its home turf for its 29th year with a very important event to be held at the METU Culture and Congress Center. The METU Big Band is participating in the festival for the second time and performing the closing concert. Conductor Ümit Eroğlu, who has made significant contributions to jazz music in Turkey and has contributed to the development of numerous Turkish jazz artists, is once again hosting Yıldız İbrahimova, one of Turkey's most prominent vocalists, as a guest artist. We thank Middle East Technical University for providing the venue.

The METU Big Band (METU Jazz Orchestra) is a jazz orchestra composed entirely of METU students and alumni, founded in 2007 under the leadership of conductor Ümit Eroğlu. With the support of the METU Department of Music and Fine Arts, the orchestra has grown over the years to encompass a diverse range of universities, performing in various cities and establishing itself on the Turkish jazz scene.

The METU Big Band, whose repertoire includes works by prominent jazz figures such as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and Herbie Hancock, brings these pieces to the stage with big-band arrangements and also features original works such as "Blues for METU." The orchestra operates as a collective that embodies the energy of collaborative production and the enthusiasm of young musicians.

The orchestra's founder and conductor, Ümit Eroğlu, began his musical career at the Ankara State Conservatory. After working as a studio and orchestra musician in Europe, he later served as conductor, arranger, and ton meister on numerous important projects in Turkey. Eroğlu, founder of TRT's Eurovision and Golden Antenna orchestras, has been conducting the METU Big Band at METU since 2007.
METU Big Band aims to provide young jazz musicians with stage experience and to introduce jazz to wider audiences in different parts of Turkey, based on collective music production.
This project was prepared with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye.