THECOMPASSCONCERTS

Bogatay Köprülü

Köprülü is a multi-faceted musician, concert-giving composer, creating orchestral, solo and chamber music. He presents his early solo piano works between 2005 and 2015 to the audience in the album "Retrospective", published on online platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music, which includes 5 works "Impromptu", Piano Sonata and his first "Scherzo".

Also his latest Piano Concerto (Op.6 - 2018) was awarded in the "10th Eczacıbaşı National Composition Contest" in İzmir - Turkey, by the jury of world-famous Conducters and Concert Pianists such as Gürer Aykal, İdil Biret, Gülsin Onay, Serdar Yalçın, Turgay Erdener, Rengim Gökmen and Hasan Uçarsu.

"…the award-winning Piano Concerto is a work of superior quality…I was fascinated by his advanced technique, musical understanding and mature approach to the piano" said by Concert Pianist Gülsin Onay.

In 2021, he has just completed his new Concerto for Cello and Orchestra while starting to perform his own early Solo Piano Works mixed with a classical repertoire. Shortly after, he took part in the online opening concert of Gümüşlük Classic Music Festival-GFA by playing his own Impromtus for Piano. In 2022, he composed a commissioned music "Marmara Quartet" in the form of a short scherzo, for the Mosaic project performed by Semplice Quartet, by Gedik Sanat.

In 2016, he completed composition and orchestration training with Prof. Tolga Zafer Özdemir at Istanbul Bilgi University. Since that time, he decided to ameliorate his piano technique with Prof. Vassilia Efstathiadou from Hannover and took part in several master classes in Croatia, Crete, including GFA (Gümüşlük Festival Academy) with Concert Pianist Gülsin Onay, Prof. Konstanze Eickhorst, Pianist Francesco Libetta.

Meanwhile, he studied at the most valued French High School Saint Joseph in Istanbul accompanied by his piano studies lasting a decade. In this long period, he immersed himself in composing numerous pieces, including a formidable Sonata for Piano Solo which showcases his evolving skills as a passionate musician questing after true knowledge regarding ancient roots of harmony by seeking for both esoteric and scientific thinking ambits.

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Mariechristine Lopez

Mariechristine Lopez is a musician who transforms emotions through sound.

Her repertoire encompasses the classical-contemporary and multicultural. Projects are imbued with her fascination for storytelling, understanding the nuances of composers' languages, and collectively experiencing universal emotions by the power of music.

Since performing Alban Berg's Chamber Concerto with pianist Fatima Alieva and Arturo Tamayo conducting the Ensemble900 of Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana at Auditorio Stelio Molo (Lugano, Switzerland), Mariechristine has given solo recitals in Switzerland (Centro Culturale Soazza), Italy (Società dei Concerti di Trieste), and California (Encinitas' Wednesdays@Noon, San Francisco International Young Artists Music Festival). She has performed chamber music with Fazil Say, Robert McDuffie, Hsin-Yun Huang, Peter Wiley, Giuliano Graniti and Simone Gramaglia. Her live performances in duo and as chamber musician have been broadcast on Swiss (Radio Svizzera Italiana) and Italian (RaiRadio3) radio.

Mariechristine's curiosity for improvisation has led to concerts across genres with Miranda Henne and Greg Liszt, and an inspiring interdisciplinary experience with Bernhard Kerres and Lothar Wenzl; musically facilitating at a Life Improvisation retreat.

Following studies with Ruggiero Ricci in Palm Springs and Salvatore Accardo at the Stauffer and Chigiana academies, Mariechristine obtained her bachelor's and master's degrees in Massimo Quarta's class at the CSI of the SUPSI in Switzerland. She has since been mentored by Rudens Turku.

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Louis Yungling

Hello, my name is Louis Yungling and I'm a co-founder of COMPASS Concerts. I'm also a pianist and piano teacher.

Meditation, mindfulness and awareness exercises are an integral part of my teaching and practice. Musicians benefit greatly from these practices by being able to focus better, get more out of their practice, increase their responsiveness to sound and be more present and confident in performance.

At COMPASS Concerts everyone benefits from the practice of pausing and going inward. We do this by sharing a brief contemplation exercise before every concert. In this way we practice being aware of one another and give ourselves a chance to feel and appreciate our unique contribution.

Preparing our minds and bodies to receive and make music allows us to be more receptive to the beauty and generosity that goes into a musical performance. And practicing this type of mindful preparation regularly can help us open our hearts more to the experiences of our day to day lives.

I am thrilled to share this journey with you and the gifted, generous artists who perform here. Thank you to all my musician friends for sharing your gifts and creating beautiful programs of music for your COMPASS community. And thank you to all who come and partake in these heart-warming community concerts.

I currently live and teach piano in Valencia, Spain. My teaching website: Yungling Piano Studio.

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