Turnalar (Turkish) means cranes - and like the cranes, Salim Salari (Tar), Julia Kitzinger (clarinet/bass clarinet), Reza Rostami (Tombak/Daf) and Anka Hirsch (cello/accordion/composition/rebab) fly musically back and forth between countries and continents.

In addition to traditional music from the Balkan region, Iran, Azerbaijan, Israel and Turkey, among others, they play their own compositions, which incorporate the musicians' different areas of experience. In doing so, they use the possibilities of their diverse instruments and let them resound in the most varied colors. Melancholic and longing melodies alternate with energetic original compositions or dance-like klezmer pieces.

Instrumentation:

Salim Salari,Tar
Julia Kitzinger, clarinet/bass clarinet
Reza Rostami,Tombak/Daf, vocals
Anka Hirsch, cello/accordion/rebab/composition

Salim Salari has played the Azerbaijani long-necked lute tar, an instrument that evolved from the Iranian tar in the 1870s, since the age of thirteen. Salari has been a member of various ensembles and orchestras in Tabriz, the capital of eastern Azerbaijan in Iran, such as the Radio Chamber Orchestra, among others. He has been living in Germany since 2016, pursuing a master's degree in civil engineering, and has been playing in various Bridges ensembles as well as the Bridges Chamber Orchestra since 2017.

Julia Kitzinger studied school music with a major in clarinet at the HfMDK Frankfurt (2009-2014) and has been working as a music and chemistry teacher at the Altkönigschule Kronberg since 2020. In the classical field, she has been active both as a chamber musician in a wide variety of formations, for example as the first clarinet in the clarinet quartet 36 Fingers, and in various symphonic orchestras such as the BundesSchulMusikOrchester, among others. From 2012 to 2016 she was concertmaster of the Neckartal Symphonic Wind Orchestra. She also continued her education in jazz, klezmer and tango through master classes, lessons and workshops. In 2016, together with Isabella Spona, she founded "Bridges - Music connects" and in 2021, together with Malte Bechthold and Hennes Peters, the project "Let's make music".

Reza Rostami already received a profound musical education in his childhood in Iran, learned various percussion instruments and played in various bands. He has been active in Bridges - Musik verbindet since its inception and has performed in numerous ensemble and orchestra concerts in the Rhine-Main area as well as throughout Germany, including a festive event organized by the German government in Berlin. Rostami is an expert in traditional Iranian and Kurdish music. Thanks to his remarkable openness to a wide variety of musical styles, he is continually expanding his repertoire and instrumentarium. 

Anka Hirsch studied cello, piano, composition, jazz and music education at the Ber