Hasan Esen, Turkish kemençe, rebab, and santur player, was born in Sivas in 1958. Esen was classically trained at a state music conservatory, where he studied kemençe music. Additionally, Esen studied kemençe with Ihsan Özgen, considered one of the most skillful and creative performers of kemençe among his generation (Özgen was born in Urfa in 1942). Branching out from Turkish classical (art) music, Esen also studied and performed the music of the Turkish Mevlevi Sufi Order, particularly that of Turkey's Sufi Sema, or ritual ceremony (originally developed by the 13th-century mystic and poet, Rumi). Esen has toured around the world, giving concerts in countries that include the United States, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Greece, China, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Russia, Brazil, and Canada. Hasan Esen has performed as a member of the Suleyman Erguner Quartet. Suleyman Erguner is considered one of the world's foremost Turkish ney (reed flute) players. Together with two other musicians, Esen and Suleyman Erguner recorded music based on the Turkish Sufi Sema (spiritual ceremony developed by the 13th century Sufi mystic and poet, Rumi). Hasan Esen is also a member of the Turkish group Bosphorus, which strives to express the sounds and experience of Turkey's classical Eastern and Anatolian musical tradition. Esen plays the kemençe in this context. A 2002 album, "Beyond the Bosphorus," was a collaboration between Bosphorus and the Greek avant-garde ensemble Mode Plagal, recorded in Istanbul and Athens. -------------------------------------------- kemenche / kemençe / κεμεντζές -------------------------------------------- The kemenche (Turkish: kemençe, Greek: κεμεντζές) is a kind of rebec or fiddle from the Black Sea region of Asia Minor. It is also known as the kemençe Laz (kemenche of Laz) in Turkey. In Greece and the Pontian Greek diaspora, it is known as the Pontian lyra, and is the main instrument used in Pontian music. The kemenche is a bottle-shaped, 3-stringed, bowed fiddle played in the upright position. It is sometimes played by resting it on the knee when sitting, and sometimes it is held out in front. The bow for the kemenche is called a doksar. The kemenche has a small, light-weight design which allows it to be held up for a long time. In some cases, a kemenche musician would follow a dancer around (perhaps dancing as well). This mainly occurs due to the relatively quiet sound of the lyra, and the need to achieve proximity to a dancer.