İKSV Alt Kat initiates the project The Stronger Together Voices Choir in collaboration with Istanbul Music Festival and with the support of the Istanbul Development Agency.

The Stronger Together Voices Choir, inspired by The White Hands Choir of “El Sistema”, a music programme founded in Venezuela, brought children and teenagers with various disabilities together with the Music for Peace Foundation Choir. Some of the children and teenagers in the choir performed the songs using their voices and others in sign language.

The Stronger Together Voices Choir was conducted by Zeynep Eren Kovankaya with Buket Ela Demirel and İpek Aktaşlı carrying out the translation of songs into sign language, rhythm training and choreography. For its first term, The Stronger Together Voices Choir was brought to life with the valuable collaboration of Parıltı Foundation for the Support of Visually Impaired Children, Solidarity Association of Turkey for the Deaf, Turkish National Federation of the Deaf, The Turkish Society of the Hearing Impaired and Music for Peace Foundation.

The Stronger Together Voices Choir, conducting its rehearsals at İKSV Alt Kat: Learning and Interaction Space, appeared before the festival audience for the first time before the “Human Requiem” concert held at Zorlu PSM Amphitheatre on Saturday, 29 June 2019 with a free mini concert. The choir will take the stage once again on 22 November, 2019 at Zorlu PSM Main Theatre as a part of the Mehmet Zorlu Youth Summit.

The Stronger Together Voices Choir will be bringing Turkish and refugee children together in its second phase that begins in January 2020.