The Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra opened the 2007–2008 season in October with a concert conducted by Gürer Aykal, featuring the young Canadian violinist James Ehnes as soloist. Works by Ahmet Adnan Saygun, to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of his birth, and by Sibelius, to honour the fiftieth anniversary of his death, were performed in this concert. The concert in November was conducted by Josep Caballé-Domenech and the guest soloist was pianist Emre Şen. In the New Year Welcoming Concert in December, the orchestra under the baton of Gürer Aykal accompanied soloist Turgay Hilmi in a work written specifically for Alphorn.