Turkish Religious Music State Conservatory

My name is Sefa Kaymak. I am a fourth year student at the Turkish State Conservatory of Religious Music at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University. Our department focuses on Turkish Religious Music. More than just this, our department focuses on understanding certain beautiful habits in our culture such as hymns and Mevlevi rituals. Therefore, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University is a rare university. In fact, there is no other university in Turkey which has a similar department as our school. Our department is located in the Cinnah Campus, very close to Kızılay and in a central location. This is a big advantage for us. We can reach the campus from any location. Since our courses are generally in musical format, we take Solfege, Dictation, Form, Method and Rhythm courses. Of course, we also receive sound training for our development. Everybody focuses on their own instruments. Our academics are also very good at this. They're trying to give us what they can. Thanks to our efforts, good work emerges. There is no internship required in our department. Obviously, a necessity arises when we take formation training but our department doesn't have it. We have a senior thesis in our department. We take this thesis course, in two stages, in the fall and spring semesters. The reason why it is in the last year is to allow us to develop our knowledge until the last year. Then we reinforce this knowledge. After graduating from our school, of course we can apply for jobs as artists. Being an academician is also a very important element. Since we constantly improve ourselves, we can also take formation training and teach as an instructor. Moreover, we can also apply as a staff for Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Our studio is an important element in our conservatory. It is even one of the most important facilities that we can benefit from. This facility is not available in all universities and is a unique opportunity offered to us. This is also my dream. I also would like to work on sound studio techniques as an academician. I think there will be even bigger performances here. Other than that, for example, we read Mevlevi rituals.
The reason I chose this department was that I wanted to get music education and it had a spiritual element. So, I thought I could focus on the divine style, and I chose this department because art is the emphasis. One of the facilities I have benefited the most from our department is of course our studio and our academic staff. Our academics are well educated and want to teach us a lot. Of course, we are also eager about it. We're trying to learn as much as we can. We aim to improve what we have learned. After graduation, I want to be a teacher of music since I have also studied formation training. Then I wish to obtain a master's degree. I have a dream to work on topics such as sound and studio techniques, and film music. After that, of course I will continue my academic studies. The university has really contributed a lot to my dreams. I hope it gets better. My advice to students is that they have to really want Turkish music because it's an issue to care about. We really reflect this in a dynamic way as we are constantly processing artifacts to keep the department alive. Our academics are helping us. I think it would be very enjoyable for incoming students. They are very encouraging towards our conservatory and music, and enable us to graduate with good education. I wish success to students who will attend the State Conservatory of Religious Music at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University. I hope they achieve their goals.