Aysegul Durakoglu and the members of her Chamber Music Society, Musica Mundana, presented a classical-world music performance, entitled “A Musical Journey with the Orient Express” on June 2, 2012 in the prestigious Allen Room at the Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. The program, inspired by the journey of the famous Orient Express Train that traveled between Paris and Istanbul, consisted of works from major European capitals like Bucharest, Budapest, Vienna, Paris, and Istanbul following the train’s route, as well as premiers from the Ottoman Court and Turkish composers. Among the performers were Adrian Daurov, cellist; Laura Falzon, flutist; Machiko Ozawa, violinist; Ismail Lumanovsky, clarinetist; Serap Ciftci, mezzo soprano; and Dr. Anthony Pennino participated as the narrator.

The concert began with dances written by the Ottoman Court composers like Giuseppe Donizetti, Sultan Murad, and continued with Gypsy music by Liszt, Monti, Dvorak, Lehar in the first half. The second part consisted of dances like waltzes and tangos by Debussy, Satie, and Piazzola and ending the program with music from Turkish composers. About 450 people attended the concert that received rave reviews from the audience.

Later in the month, on June 27, 2012 Aysegul Durakoglu performed at the Lobby Performances at WQLN Radio Station in Erie, Pennsylvania. The program included an interview along with solo piano works by Chopin, Debussy, Stravinsky, and Turkish Composers.