Latif Bolat to Perform Turkish Folk Concert The Oct. 20 concert is sponsored by W&L’s Middle East and South Asia Studies Program.

By Emily Innes
October 15, 2024

Latif Bolat, a renowned Turkish musician, will perform at Washington and Lee University on Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. in Wilson Concert Hall in the Lenfest Center for the Arts.

The concert is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Middle East and South Asia Studies Program. Doors will open at 7:30 p.m.

Bolat, a native of the Turkish Mediterranean town of Mersin, is one of the most renowned Turkish musicians in North America and has performed concerts and delivered lectures at universities, performing arts institutions and festivals around the world. He specializes in the ancient Turkish mystic-devotional music genre and his repertory includes classical, folk and Sufi mystic music styles.

Bolat accompanies his singing on the baglama (a long-necked lute) and other traditional instruments from the Turkish folk music tradition, including the fram drum, ney flute, kanun, violin and oud. During his concerts, he creates an intimate, storytelling atmosphere and discusses the sociopolitical and cultural elements in Turkish folk and mystic music. He also frequently incorporates Turkish devotional poetry from the 13th-century mystics Rumi and Yunus Emre, as well as later Turkish mystic poets throughout the program.

Bolat received his degree in folklore and music at Gazi University in Ankara, Turkey, and taught traditional music throughout the country. He also managed the Ankara Halk Tiyatrosu musical theater company. Bolat received additional degrees in Turkish history and Middle East religion and politics from Ankara University and an MBA from San Francisco State University.