On the 21st of December 2022, the Bi-communal choir for Peace in Cyprus lost their beloved maestro Lena Melanidou who travelled completely unexpectedly to the neighborhood of angels. After this loss, the members of the choir decided to rename the Choir in honor of Maestro Lena Melanidou from “Bicommunal Choir for Peace in Cyprus” to “Bicommunal Choir for Peace-Lena Melanidou” and give a promise to continue working for peace and reunification of our island, to continue working for the realization of Lena’s vision.
THE BI-COMMUNAL CHOIR FOR PEACE IN CYPRUS SAYS "GOODBYE" TO their BELOVED MAESTRO LENA MELANIDOU, WITH HER FAVORITE SONG.
A few words about Lena
Who is Lena Melanidou? Lena Melanidou is our Lena, the conductor of our heart. She did not belong to any ideological-political party or movement and did not serve any specific political agenda. Her own energy and action was not exogenously motivated. Her own energy and action was original, it was a product of inner need. It was the result of free choice, without outside influences. And that is exactly what made her special, unique. This is how she was made. She was functioning autonomously, with inspirations. Spontaneous, authentic, risky sometimes, but always successful and useful for everyone, for those around her, for her country.
She was an excellent, charismatic musician. With other options, she could be an award-winning artist of high standards. She chose, together with her Turkish colleagues, Caner first and then Kürşat, to lead a bi-communal group with limited vocal skills, and to lead them in the fields of Pergamon, in villages, in every place offered. Risking professionally. Another dimension of her selfless greatness.
She left very early. She still had a lot to offer. She left without seeing the vision of a reunited homeland come true. But none of us determines our end. We, the members of the bi-communal choir, promise that we will do our best until the final vindication. We will continue to sing, "not to stand out from the world, but to unite the world." We will continue to plow Cyprus and the world by thundering at the end of each of our appearances "Kıbrıs’ta Barış engelenemez" and "Cyprus belongs to its people". And the voice of our Lena will resound in the atmosphere. And it will be there, in every note of the songs, it will flood our hearts, it will hover over the space and it will correct our every mistake. After all, until now, when she directed us in the performances, she left, she flew, she did not step on the ground. She will be in each of our tears, which run effortlessly when we sing about the homeland that was divided in two parts...
Yes, dear Lena, yes Lena of the heart. Your body and soul are gone. But you did not die. You will be eternally present, in everything for which you fought and gave your precious self. In all those you loved and those who loved you. And not only as a memory, but as an eternal presence.
Who is Lena Melanidou? Lena Melanidou is our Lena, the conductor of our heart. She did not belong to any ideological-political party or movement and did not serve any specific political agenda. Her own energy and action was not exogenously motivated. Her own energy and action was original, it was a product of inner need. It was the result of free choice, without outside influences. And that is exactly what made her special, unique. This is how she was made. She was functioning autonomously, with inspirations. Spontaneous, authentic, risky sometimes, but always successful and useful for everyone, for those around her, for her country.
She was an excellent, charismatic musician. With other options, she could be an award-winning artist of high standards. She chose, together with her Turkish colleagues, Caner first and then Kürşat, to lead a bi-communal group with limited vocal skills, and to lead them in the fields of Pergamon, in villages, in every place offered. Risking professionally. Another dimension of her selfless greatness.
She left very early. She still had a lot to offer. She left without seeing the vision of a reunited homeland come true. But none of us determines our end. We, the members of the bi-communal choir, promise that we will do our best until the final vindication. We will continue to sing, "not to stand out from the world, but to unite the world." We will continue to plow Cyprus and the world by thundering at the end of each of our appearances "Kıbrıs’ta Barış engelenemez" and "Cyprus belongs to its people". And the voice of our Lena will resound in the atmosphere. And it will be there, in every note of the songs, it will flood our hearts, it will hover over the space and it will correct our every mistake. After all, until now, when she directed us in the performances, she left, she flew, she did not step on the ground. She will be in each of our tears, which run effortlessly when we sing about the homeland that was divided in two parts...
Yes, dear Lena, yes Lena of the heart. Your body and soul are gone. But you did not die. You will be eternally present, in everything for which you fought and gave your precious self. In all those you loved and those who loved you. And not only as a memory, but as an eternal presence.
Conductor's Kürşat Tilki speech about Lena
Dear Lena,
We joined our wings together with you so that peace would come to our island. We have sung our songs for years in our bi-communal choir with the vision of a federal solution in our country and we still continue to sing. Unfortunately we lost you very early. We could have more concerts and songs together. You will always be in our hearts and in our songs as Neşe Yaşın calls the ''Queen of Songs '' maestro of our hearts, as an angel of peace. Your never-ending love of people, love of country and energy will continue to shed light on us on this path. Maybe our songs are without you now, but our bi-communal peace choir, which you used to call ''your family'', will continue to carry the light you lit. Your legacy for love, respect and the spirit of struggle for the best will remain for ever.
I am so happy that I had the chance to get to know you and to work with you for 17 years. Today, we keep you in our hearts together with all your brothers, sisters and loved ones in our choir.
Rest in peace our patriotic wonderful person.
Rest in peace our dear Lena.
We joined our wings together with you so that peace would come to our island. We have sung our songs for years in our bi-communal choir with the vision of a federal solution in our country and we still continue to sing. Unfortunately we lost you very early. We could have more concerts and songs together. You will always be in our hearts and in our songs as Neşe Yaşın calls the ''Queen of Songs '' maestro of our hearts, as an angel of peace. Your never-ending love of people, love of country and energy will continue to shed light on us on this path. Maybe our songs are without you now, but our bi-communal peace choir, which you used to call ''your family'', will continue to carry the light you lit. Your legacy for love, respect and the spirit of struggle for the best will remain for ever.
I am so happy that I had the chance to get to know you and to work with you for 17 years. Today, we keep you in our hearts together with all your brothers, sisters and loved ones in our choir.
Rest in peace our patriotic wonderful person.
Rest in peace our dear Lena.
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