Fahir Atakoglu slipped quietly into Montgomery County without alerting local music lovers that one of Turkey’s most famous composers now resides in their midst. While he was scoring documentaries about Turkish history, he wrote music for “Aladdin’s Luck,” the Imagination Stage sensation that first debuted at White Flint Mall. “Aladdin’s Luck,” the story of a mischievous young man’s adventures, will be presented there through October 30. The audience will follow Aladdin on two journeys, each lasting 1001 days and nights, to find magic and love.
“This story has been a favorite of mine since high school,” Atakoglu said. “All the while I read the books, I was thinking of the music to accompany the story. Children of all ages and nationalities love the characters.
| Onstage |
| ‘Aladdin’s Luck’ |
| Where: Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Avenue, Bethesda |
| When: Friday to Oct. 30 |
| Info: $10 to $22 at Imagination Stage Box Office, 301-280-1660 or imaginationstage.org |
“I first learned about Imagination Stage years ago when Janet Stanford, the artistic director, became aware of me. My wife is a theater actress and had been doing the choreography for their show ‘The Never-Ending Story.’
“Composing for a musical is different than composing instrumentals because it’s more collaborative. You work with a team to follow the vision of the director. I love the imagination it requires and thought this was a great opportunity to become involved. The string orchestra utilizes several Middle Eastern instruments: the def, a tambourine, and the ney, an end-blown flute.”
Long before moving to this country, Atakoglu had amassed awards in his native Turkey for scores to documentaries and docu-dramas, jingles, commercials and platinum record sales. After attending Istanbul State Conservatory, he moved to London where he earned diplomas in composition, orchestration, piano, marketing and advertising from Croydon College of the University of London and London School of Music. Upon returning home, he began in earnest composing scores to more than a dozen documentaries about Turkey’s historical and political events.
“The music I wrote in 1988 for a documentary about the 1970 Cyprus War was very popular,” he said. “I was behind the curtain instrumentally and wrote passionately. The story affected me personally because of the human element. My philosophy is if it gives goose bumps, then it is successful.”
