Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra
| Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra | |
|---|---|
| Orchestra | |
| Former name | Borusan Chamber Orchestra |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Location | Istanbul, Turkey |
| Principal conductor | Sascha Goetzel |
| Website | www |
The Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra (Turkish: Borusan İstanbul Filarmoni Orkestrası), also known as the BIFO, is a Turkish orchestra based in Istanbul that was formed by enlarging the Borusan Chamber Orchestra in 1999. It is funded by the Borusan Holding.
The Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra was founded as the Borusan Chamber Orchestra in 1993. This initiative by Borusan, a leading Turkish industrial conglomerate, entering into the complex and challenging world of establishing orchestras, was based on its vision of helping to bring polyphonic music to a wider audience of Turkish people. This group rapidly grew in both number of musicians and quality of musical performance, so that it became a symphonic orchestra in 1999. That same year, Maestro Gürer Aykal was appointed as the general music director and permanent conductor of the orchestra.
On 13 May 1999, at the Yıldız Palace Silahhane Building on the European side of Istanbul, the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra performed its first concert and soon began offering concerts on the Anatolian side of the city as well. By the end of 1999, BIFO was performing two concerts per month, one on each side of the Bosphorus, at the Istanbul Lütfi Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Center on the European side and at the Kadiköy People's Education Center on the Asian side, thereby quickly becoming a true city orchestra. This pattern continues until this day, totaling twenty-four concerts per year, with performances on the Anatolian side now being held at the Caddebostan Cultural Center. For the international audience of the Istanbul Festival, the BIFO has become a well known and estimeed musical standard for many years.
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