Maria Rita Epik

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Maria Rita Epik (born 1 January 1958) is a Turkish musician of Italian Levantine descent, [1] [2] who won the Turkish pre-Elimination of the Eurovision Song Contest 1979. In 1990 she opened the Epik Music School in her native Izmir.

Contents

Early life and education

Epik was born on the 1st January 1958 in İzmir, Turkey.

She attended Virginia Tech University in the United States. [1]

Career

At the age of 21, Epik won the internal Turkish pre-Elimination in 1979 to sing for Turkey at the first ever Eurovision Song Contest hosted by Israel, in Jerusalem. [1] However, due to a political decision by Eurovision Turkey to boycott Israel, she had to withdraw and stay at home. [3] [1]

In 1987, Epik performed and later spoke to attendees at the "Solidarity Against Beating" feminist campaign's musical concert in Turkey. [4]

In 1990, she opened the Epik Music School in Izmir. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "A musician in Izmir". Turkish Daily News. 13 July 2007. ProQuest   328668696.
  2. "'Some call them Levantine' sheds light on Izmir's cultural wealth". Turkish Daily News. 11 August 2007. ProQuest   328660004.
  3. cohen, San (20 March 1979). "Turkey decides to cast its lot with Arab world". Christian Science Monitor. ProQuest   512073700.
  4. Protest Public Relations: Communicating Dissent and Activism. (2018). United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.