Established in 1985 on the initiative of Dr. Nejat F. Eczacıbaşı, the Izmir Foundation for Culture, Art and Education (İKSEV) organizes the annual International Izmir Festival of music, dance and theatre.
In addition to a full program of concerts, the festival provides opportunities for participating artists and groups to take part in workshops and masterclasses with festival musicians and ensembles.
İKSEV also holds on a biennial basis Turkey’s first National Composition Competition, which is named after İKSEV’s founder, Dr. Nejat F. Eczacıbaşı. Since the start of this competition in 1998, the competition has enriched Turkey’s polyphonic music culture by contributing to the composition of close to 200 symphonies by national composers.