Karsu to perform at Harbiye

Young musician Karsu will meet music lovers at the Harbiye Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Stage.

The artist will perform a repertoire consisting of beloved works, including songs such as "Jest Oldu," "Sonunda," "Siyah," and "Bırak Beni Böyle," for her fans.

WHO IS KARSU?

Karsu Dönmez (born April 19, 1990, Amsterdam) is a Dutch-Turkish singer-songwriter and pianist. Her musical style, which she blends with Turkish melodies, can be described as jazz-pop.

Karsu Dönmez was born on April 19, 1990, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, as one of two daughters of Turkish-origin parents, mother Birgül and father Alpaslan Dönmez, who immigrated from the village of Karsu in Hatay. When she was 8 years old, she decided to play the piano after seeing one on television. Her family first rented a piano for her. When they saw how much she loved it, they bought her a piano with the money they had saved. Karsu went to America with a scholarship provided by the American Embassy in the Netherlands and received vocal training at the University of Rhode Island.

Karsu began her active musical life at the age of 16 by playing the piano for customers at the Kilim Restaurant in Amsterdam, which was owned by her father. Attracting the attention of customers there, Karsu was met with interest, and the number of people coming to listen to her increased.[3][4] Faced with this situation, her family decided to rent a hall for Karsu. This way, they would be giving a concert in a large venue for those who wanted to listen to her. However, this plan did not go as the Dönmez family had thought. It was not possible to close the matter with one large concert due to the demand from people who wanted to watch Karsu.

Following this concert, Karsu began receiving offers from some of the world's most important stages and organizations. In a short time, she took part in important venues ranging from the Concertgebouw to the North Sea Jazz Festival and even New York's Carnegie Hall. There were those who stated that when they closed their eyes and listened to her voice at her concerts, they thought they were listening to a giant jazz star in New Orleans.

Karsu focused on her work in Turkey in the autumn of 2011 by signing with "Y Kültür Sanat," a record label, event, and management agency. She released her first studio album, Confession (2012), and Colors (2015) in Turkey under the "Y Kültür Sanat" label. Karsu wrote the lyrics and music for almost all of the songs on these two albums.

The Turkish media first featured Karsu in 2012 on the program Şeffaf Oda, hosted by Güneri Civaoğlu. Thanks to this program, she reached a different audience. Karsu has given many concerts at organizations such as the Istanbul Zorlu Center PSM, Ankara Jazz Festival, Alanya Jazz Festival, and Akbank Jazz Festival.

Between 2014 and 2015, she went on a world tour called From New York to Istanbul. In 2018, she performed in more than 40 halls with the Karsu Plays Atlantic Records project. In these concerts, the life story of Ahmet Ertegün, the founder of the world-famous Atlantic Records label, was told, and hits released by Atlantic Records were reinterpreted with a Karsu touch. With this project, Karsu brought Ertegün's journey to the stage together with songs released by Atlantic Records.

Karsu performed this concert in Turkish for the first time at Zorlu PSM in May 2018. The Karsu Plays Atlantic Records tour ended at London's Cadogan Hall.

The artist released her fourth album, which she named after herself, Karsu, on October 10, 2019, after three years of preparation.

Karsu lost 10 relatives during the 2023 Great Turkey earthquakes.

News Source: AA