CORVALLIS — Ankine Ugur, a well-known singer from Istanbul, Turkey, will share her irrepressible and charismatic style of music at a concert this Friday in Corvallis .

Ankine has performed an old vaudeville style of music called Kanto for more than 30 years in Turkey.

An unlikely star, she refused to let the conservative culture in her predominantly Islamic homeland hold her back from her dreams of being a singer.

Complicating matters, she is a Christian of Armenian heritage. It’s a fact she hid from most people — including her husband’s Muslim family for many years — going by the stage name “Aysun Isik.”

A few years ago, she was able to reveal her true identity to her many fans , and since has been on tour to Germany and the subject of a documentary filmed in 2008.

Ankine will perform traditional Turkish music and Kanto with Eugene-based Ala Nar and guest dancer Salome at 9:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, at Cloud 9 in Corvallis. Admission is $5.

Corvallis audiences can thank the strong bond between Ankine and her husband, Ömer, and their only son, Arda, for their chance to see her perform.

Arda, a structural engineer, moved to Eugene in 2005.

Ankine and Ömer first visited Oregon a year ago, when Arda and his wife had their first child, a daughter they named Azra Ankine. The proud grandparents came back for another visit recently and will be in Eugene through January.

“My mother has always been very enthusiastic about her music,” Arda said. He agreed to translate an interview with Ankine, who does not speak English.

“Arda is our only son, and we always had strong family ties,” Ankine said. “Before our first visit, Arda had been living in the States for three years and seeing him again was a mix of a lot of emotions: happiness, excitement and a lot of tears.”

While visiting this year, Ankine attended a show by Ala Nar.

Leigh Ann Starcevich, a Corvallis musician who plays saz with the Eugene-based band, recalled seeing Ankine singing along at a recent concert.

“We were wondering, ‘who is this woman?’” she said.

Ankine was equally surprised to find a group playing Turkish music in Oregon.

“I was very, very surprised and excited. It made me extremely happy to see a group of talented Americans who play our music and traditional instruments, sing our songs in this part of the world,” Ankine said. “I was thrilled. At the end of their concert I met with Leigh Ann, and that’s how our acquaintance started.”

Ankine was persuaded to join Ala Nar for several upcoming concerts in Corvallis and Eugene. In the meantime, she’s taught the group a thing or two.

“I found Ala Nar very entertaining when I first listened to them,” Ankine said. “When I rehearsed with them for the first time, I introduced some songs they were not familiar with and some songs they had not performed at their concert but that they were familiar with.”

“Most of these songs were old and classic Istanbul songs. On the other hand, I introduced them to my genre of Kanto, which they seem to enjoy playing,” she added. “I will be sharing a mix of Turkish music, which mainly consists of classic Istanbul songs and authentic Kanto, at our upcoming Eugene and Corvallis shows.”

“She really whipped us into shape,” Starcevich said. “She is such a charismatic performer. What you see on stage is how she always sings. This music is such a part of how she thinks and breathes and lives.”

Ankine had no problem giving up part of her vacation to the U.S. to perform with Ala Nar.

“No, I do not mind at all,” she said. “On the contrary, I enjoy it very much, and I appreciate the opportunity to meet and perform with such talented musicians. I am so lucky that I am able to perform in the U.S. after Germany and my home country Turkey.”

Ankine was 25 years old when she  started her professional singing career. She competed in five major singing competitions in Turkey, and placed first in four of them and second in the other.

“That was absolutely one of the highlights in my career,” she said.

Last year, during Ramadan 2008, she performed Kanto in Berlin, Germany. During the tour, she had interviews with top newspapers and TV channels from Turkey which are also published and broadcast in Germany.

She was also the subject of a documentary on her personal and professional life called “Hayatin Ritmi: Aksak” directed by Yasin Ali and translated by Bob Beer. The film received an award last year from the Turkish National Television and Radio Network.

“As I look back at my 31 years of performing, the thing that I am most proud of is my role of keeping authentic Kanto alive and doing this without taking the easy way out by performing popular music,” Ankine said, adding that she is also proud of “successfully preserving my family and marriage.”

“As long as I recieve offers and get opportunities to perform Kanto I wish to continue singing Kanto whether I am in Turkey or the U.S.,” she said. “As you would appreciate, authentic arts such as Kanto is a dying part of our culture.”