This April 3 marks the 106th anniversary of the birth of Bilkent University’s beloved founder, Prof. İhsan Doğramacı. Each year, Bilkent celebrates Prof. Doğramacı’s birthday as Bilkent Day, honoring his memory with deepest respect and affection.
Although the continuing COVID-19 pandemic has made it necessary to scale down the usual celebratory events, this year’s Bilkent Day will still include the customary Bilkent Day Conference as well a special concert by the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, both to take place online.
The 2021 Bilkent Day Conference will be held on Saturday, April 3, via Zoom. (The Zoom link will be sent through BAIS.) The program will start at 4 p.m. with opening remarks by Prof. Gülsev Kale, chair of the Board of Trustees, and continue with a presentation by Rector Abdullah Atalar on “The State of the University.”
The concert will be broadcast online at 8 p.m. on the same day. Listeners may access the livestream at https://bilet.bilkent.edu.tr/. For the performance, the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra will be joined by pianist Gülsin Onay in an all-Mozart program. The composer’s Quintet for Piano, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon in E flat major will feature Ms. Onay along with BSO members Almat Zhaylaubayev (oboe), Nusret İspir (clarinet), Mustafa Kaplan (horn) and Ozan Evruk (bassoon) as soloists. Ms. Onay will also perform the solo part in Mozart’s Concerto for Piano No. 12.