AI on the Podium: How Limak Turned 50 With an Orchestra at AKM

An AI-built digital conductor shared the podium with a human maestro on the stage of Istanbul’s Atatürk Cultural Centre (AKM). The occasion was the 50th anniversary of Limak Holding, a construction, energy and infrastructure group that works in 14 countries and employs nearly 50,000 people. Instead of a hotel ballroom and a slideshow, the company marked its jubilee with a contemporary art exhibition, a documentary and a concert by its own orchestra. For brands, event agencies and cultural venues, the evening is a clear case study of how large Turkish holdings now use culture as their main corporate language.

In brief

• The headline moment: during “Nihavend Longa”, an AI-developed digital conductor led the Limak Philharmonic Orchestra alongside conductor Hasan Niyazi Tura.
• The event: Limak celebrated its 50th anniversary at AKM in Istanbul on 20 October 2026, then repeated the programme at Ankara Congresium on 22 October.
• The programme: an exhibition by artist Melis Binay built from century-old Barcelona doors, a documentary on 50 years of Limak, a panel moderated by Jülide Ateş and the concert “Zamansız Eserler” (“Timeless Works”) with tenor Murat Karahan.
• The company: founded in 1976 by two engineers, active in construction, energy, tourism, cement and technology across three continents.
• The trend: Limak is one of several Turkish groups that run their own orchestras, alongside Borusan, Tekfen and Doğuş.

What actually happened on the AKM stage?

Short answer: a corporate anniversary staged as a cultural night, with technology as the surprise. Guests from business, government, the arts and the media first walked through “Geleće Açılan Kapılar” (“Doors Opening to the Future”), an exhibition by contemporary artist Melis Binay. She took wooden doors more than a hundred years old from historic buildings in Barcelona and turned each one into an artwork that reinterprets a Limak project: airports, bridges, energy plants, transport and infrastructure.

Next came a documentary about the group’s 50-year history and a panel moderated by journalist Jülide Ateş. The founding chairmen Nihat Özdemir and Sezai Bacaksız, board chair Ebru Özdemir, deputy chair Serhan Bacaksız and board members Batuhan Özdemir and Serdar Bacaksız spoke about the company’s growth from a domestic contractor into international markets, and about sustainability, digital transformation and social impact as goals for the next 50 years.

The evening closed with “Zamansız Eserler”, a concert by the Limak Philharmonic Orchestra under Hasan Niyazi Tura, with tenor Murat Karahan, who has sung leading roles in more than 40 operatic works. The programme reworked classics of Turkish art music for full orchestra, including songs associated with Zeki Müren, Yıldırım Gürses, Hacı Arif Bey and Selahattin Altınbaş: “Duydum ki Unutmuşsun”, “Veda Busesi”, “Gurbet”, “Senede Bir Gün”, “Köçekçe”, “Gökyüzünde Yalnız Gezen Yıldızlar”, “Manolya” and “Yaralı Gönül”.

How did the AI conductor work, and why does it matter?

Two technology moments were built into the concert. During “Gökyüzünde Yalnız Gezen Yıldızlar” a digital artwork created for the anniversary was projected in the hall. During “Nihavend Longa”, a classic instrumental piece, an AI-developed digital conductor directed the orchestra together with Hasan Niyazi Tura. The reports do not describe the system in technical detail, and the human conductor stayed on the podium, so this was a showcase rather than a replacement of the maestro.

For the events industry the point is not the algorithm but the storytelling. A company whose name is tied to concrete, steel and power plants used AI on a concert stage to show that it is thinking about the future. It is a format that marketing teams in Türkiye and abroad will copy: one striking, shareable moment inside a traditional cultural programme. As the designer Neslişah Yılmaz Hidayetoğlu put it in her Daily Sabah column about the evening, the night tied together memory, creativity and the future.

Who is Limak, and why does it have an orchestra?

Limak is one of Türkiye’s largest infrastructure groups, and its orchestra is part of a long-running cultural and social programme. The company was founded in 1976 by two engineer friends, Nihat Özdemir and Sezai Bacaksız. Today it works in construction, energy, tourism, cement and technology, in 14 countries on three continents, with nearly 50,000 employees.

The Limak Foundation (Limak Vakfı) created the orchestra in 2017 with Murat Karahan as a co-founder and artistic lead. Its mission from the start was to bring Turkish songs to wide audiences in polyphonic, symphonic arrangements; its first concerts already included Zeki Müren songs. Since then the orchestra has toured beyond Istanbul. Its traditional New Year concerts have been staged in Istanbul, İzmir and Ankara with international soloists, and ticket revenue has been directed to the foundation’s scholarship programme for young women studying engineering, including students affected by the 2023 earthquakes.

Is this a one-off, or a Turkish model of corporate culture?

It is a model. Large Turkish holdings have been building their own cultural institutions for more than three decades, often as the core of their corporate social responsibility work.

Each group uses its ensemble differently. Borusan built an orchestra that tours European concert halls and records for international labels; Doğuş focuses on young musicians; Tekfen brought together players from many countries. Limak’s niche is Turkish popular and art music in orchestral form, which makes its concerts accessible to a broad audience and well suited to corporate events. The trend is still growing: TRBW Creative recently covered the new Özyeğin Philharmonic led by Fazıl Say, another orchestra backed by a business family.

Why AKM is the stage corporate Türkiye wants

The venue was a statement in itself. The new Atatürk Cultural Centre on Taksim Square, designed by Murat Tabanlıoğlu (son of Hayati Tabanlıoğlu, architect of the original building), was completed in about two and a half years after its foundation was laid in February 2019 and opened in October 2021. The complex stands on a 30,000 m² site with around 95,000 m² of indoor space. Its main opera hall seats 2,040 people and has an orchestra pit for 118 musicians, compared with 1,300 seats in the old building. Around it are rehearsal rooms, a recording studio, galleries and a “Culture Street” with a cinema, library and children’s arts centre.

For a company celebrating half a century, AKM offers symbolism (the country’s best-known cultural landmark), capacity and full technical production for an orchestra, projections and a large guest list. That is why private galas, launches and anniversaries increasingly compete with public performances for dates in the building.

Our take: what this means for brands, agencies and venues

Our take: Limak’s anniversary shows where corporate events in Türkiye are heading: away from speeches and towards curated cultural experiences with one technological “wow” moment.

• Brands and holdings: owning or long-term sponsoring an ensemble gives a company a ready-made programme for anniversaries, client nights and CSR campaigns, and a story that the media will cover as culture rather than advertising.
• Event and creative agencies: the winning formula combines contemporary art, a documentary or panel, live music and one AI or digital element. Agencies that can integrate projection, generative visuals and interactive tech with classical performers will be in demand.
• Tech and AI companies: live performance is a high-visibility showcase. A digital conductor or AI-generated visual on a major stage earns more attention than a trade-show booth.
• Venues and cities: repeating the show in Istanbul and Ankara within three days shows that one production can tour several cultural centres. Venues that offer full technical packages can sell to corporate clients outside the regular season.
• Artists: Melis Binay’s door project shows the demand for commissioned works that translate a company’s history into art. Corporate commissions are a growing income stream for Turkish contemporary artists.

FAQ

When and where did Limak celebrate its 50th anniversary?

At the Atatürk Cultural Centre (AKM) in Istanbul on 20 October 2026, followed by a second event at Ankara Congresium on 22 October 2026.

Did an AI really conduct the orchestra?

During one piece, “Nihavend Longa”, an AI-developed digital conductor directed the Limak Philharmonic Orchestra together with conductor Hasan Niyazi Tura, who remained on stage.

Who performed?

The Limak Philharmonic Orchestra under Hasan Niyazi Tura, with tenor Murat Karahan as soloist, in the concert “Zamansız Eserler”.

What was the art exhibition?

“Geleće Açılan Kapılar” by Melis Binay: century-old wooden doors from historic Barcelona buildings, each reworked to represent a Limak project such as an airport, a bridge or an energy plant.

When was the Limak Philharmonic founded?

The Limak Foundation set up the orchestra in 2017, with tenor Murat Karahan among its founders.

Could the public buy tickets?

Reports describe the anniversary as an evening for invited guests from business, government, the arts and the media; no public ticket sales were reported. The orchestra’s regular concerts, such as its New Year series, are ticketed.

Sources

• Daily Sabah: When art, music, artificial intelligence meet at Istanbul’s AKM (25 October 2026)
• Habertürk: Limak 50. yılını İstanbul’da kutladı
• Hürgün: Limak Holding 50th anniversary gala in Ankara
• DHA: Limak Foundation concerts and scholarships
• Ekonomist: Holdings and private orchestras
• İTO: A world-class cultural centre: AKM

This article is for information only. Details of corporate events and venue specifications are based on published reports; check with the organisers before making business decisions.