Young Musicians Virtual Concert Series – Recitals Piano Duet by Erdem & Maralmaa

Young Musicians Virtual Concert Series

Piano Duet: Greensleeves
Adaptation by Angela Diller and Elizabeth Quaile
Erdem Yılmaz, Piano, Richmond, VA
Maralmaa Bayarsaikhan, Piano, Arlington, VA

Coaches
Osman Kıvrak, D.M.A., Maryland
Teri Lazar, D.M.A., Maryland

Line Producer: Yonca Poyraz-Doğan

In this part of our series, Maralmaa from Arlington, Virginia and Erdem from Richmond, Virginia, play together. Neither the COVID-19 pandemic nor the distance has prevented them from doing what they enjoy to do.

This is the second of the series “Young Musicians” produced by the dedicated volunteers of the Turkish-American Television (TATV), which is the longest running community television platform of the Turkish-American community in the U.S.

Find below what our young musicians said about their online experience since November 2019 that was possible through Sunday Zoom meetings with Dr. Osman Kıvrak, musician in residence at the American University in Washington D.C.

Erdem Yılmaz, Piano (Richmond, Virginia)
“Throughout this time, I have gained a lot of valuable experience and knowledge from my workings with Maralmaa and Dr. Kıvrak. One crucial thing I learned was how to play on tempo with a metronome. This was really important, as it was necessary for the musical pieces to sync up. Additionally, saw the importance of practice, as I improved drastically once I started putting more time into practicing my piece. I also had an enjoyable time working with Maralmaa and Dr. Kıvrak. I had a great time working with Dr. Kıvrak, as he was patient with us, and he could walk us through tasks we struggled with. He helped show me which notes I was playing wrong and how to improve my timing with the metronome to stay on-beat. On top of this, he has a great personality, and he is always happy and gleeful. This was also the first time I had a musical partner and I definitely found working with Maralmaa fun. She is great at the piano, and she’s a good person. Overall, my time practicing the piano over the past two months has been one of a kind and an excellent experience.”

Maralmaa Bayarsaikhan, Piano (Arlington, Virginia)
“I am a 12-year-old in seventh grade. In my free time, I like to draw, crochet, read, play volleyball, and play piano. With Dr. Kıvrak I learned lots of new things. One of them was how to use a metronome and how to play with a metronome. Something that was really fun was when I and Erdem both practiced before the class, so Dr. Kıvrak got really happy. When he got happy, it gave me more determination to practice. From this experience, I gained more knowledge on how to work with a partner and how online piano sessions work. Thank you so much Dr. Kivrak, TATV and Ms. Yonca.”