The Composers :: Listening to Istanbul

The Composers

Welcome to “Listening to Istanbul!”

On this website you can explore the fascinating world of contemporary music in Istanbul. To get started click one of the articles below.

Turgut Erçetin

Turgut Erçetin studied composition and music theory with Pieter Snapper, Kamran Ince, and Michael Ellison at the Istanbul Technical University Center for Advanced Music Studies (MIAM).
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Zeynep Gedizlioğlu

After finishing her studies at the Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul, Zeynep Gedizlioğlu studied with Theo Brandmüller in Saarbrücken, Ivan Fedele in Strasbourg...
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Özkan Manav

Özkan Manav is one of the most prolific Turkish composers of the younger generation. Amongst his teachers were influential Turkish composers such as...
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Tolga Tüzün

Tolga Tüzün’s compositional studies started in Istanbul with Pieter Snapper and Mark Wingate and continued in New York with David Olan, Tristan Murail, and Philippe Leroux...
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Murat Yakın

A graduate of the Istanbul Technical University Center for Advanced Music Studies (MIAM), and the University of Memphis, Murat Yakın worked with Pieter Snapper...
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Tolga Yayalar

Before coming to Harvard University in 2003, Tolga Yayalar studied Jazz Composition and Jazz Guitar at the Berklee College of Music...
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Erdem Helvacıoğlu

Erdem Helvacıoğlu is one of the most important electronic music composers of his generation in Turkey. A graduate of the MIAM in istanbul, Erdem worked with Pieter Snapper, Ken Valitsky, Mark Wingate and Reuben de Lautour...
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Hasan Uçarsu

One of Turkey's foremost composers studied with Ahmed Adnan Saygun and Cengiz Tanç at the Mimar Sinan University State Conservatory in Istanbul before relocating to the United States...
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Babür Tongur

In his compositions Babür Tongur uses a broad range of sounds, timbres and genres that he borrows from Euro-Asian, Mediterranean and Anatolian cultures.
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Barış Perker

After finishing his piano and composition studies at the Mimar Sinan University State Conservatory in Istanbul under the mentorship of Hasan Uçarsu, Özkan Manav, Seher Tanrıyar and Metin Ülkü...
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Onur Türkmen

The Eskişehir born composer Onur Türkmen graduated from the environmental engineering program at the Istanbul Technical University before attending Berklee College of Music in Boston...
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Ilkim Tongur

A formidable oboe player, Ilkim studied composition and conducting at the Mimar Sinan University State Conservatory in İstanbul where she worked with Ercivan Saydam, Özkan Manav, Babür Tongur and Hasan Uçarsu.
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Eray Altınbüken

A native of Istanbul, Eray Altınbüken received his PhD degree in composition from the Istanbul Technical University Centre for Advanced Studies in Music (ITU/MIAM) where he studied with Ilhan Usmanbaş, Kamran Ince and Hasan Uçarsu.
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Tolga Zafer Özdemir

Tolga Zafer Özdemir began his studies with Faris Akarsu and continued with Kamran Ince, İlhan Usmanbaş, Mark Wingate and Fernando Benadon at the Istanbul Technical University Centre for Advanced Studies in Music (ITU/MIAM)...
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Mehmet Nemutlu

Born in 1966 Mehmet Nemutlu began his music studies with Muammer Sun, Necil Kazım Akses, Kamuran Gündemir and Ertuğrul Oğuz Fırat in Ankara.
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Çağlayan Yıldız

Çağlayan Yıldız was born in Aydin (1966) and grew up in Izmir. In 1984, he started studying medicine in Medical Faculty of Aegean University, Izmir, while also continuing his music projects (rock, blues, funk, jazz) as a guitar player and theater projects as an actor and composer.
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Tuna Pase

Tuna Pase is a composer/performer based in Istanbul. Her areas of interest are electro-acoustic composition, improvisation, ethnomusicology, sound art and design.
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İlhan Usmanbaş

İlhan Usmanbaş (born in 1921 in Istanbul) is one of the most influential figures and teachers of the Turkish contemporary music scene.
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Mahir Çetiz

A native of Ankara, Mahir Çetiz is currently a DMA candidate in Composition and teaching fellow at Columbia University, where he has been studying with Fabien Lévy, Tristan Murail and Fred Lerdahl.
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Füsun Köksal

Füsun Köksal currently lives and teaches in the United States. Her oeuvre spans from solo to orchestral works and is informed by the gestural and timbral concerns of Boulez, Berio, and fellow composers of her own generation.
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Attila Kadri Şendil

Dr. Attila Kadri Şendil, holds a Bachelor of Music from Dokuz Eylul University State Conservatory in clarinet. He also holds a Master of Music from Istanbul Technical University/MIAM and DMA degree in composition from the University of Memphis where he studied composition with Karman İnce.
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Stefan Pohlit

Stefan Pohlit was born in 1976 in Heidelberg and studied Composition and Music Theory in Saarbrücken, Basel, Lyon, and Karlsruhe, in particular with Wolfgang Rihm, Sandeep Bhagwati, and Peter-Michael Riehm.
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Korhan Erel

Korhan Erel is a Turkish improviser, sound designer and composer based in Istanbul, Turkey. He plays instruments he designs on a computer by employing various controllers. He also uses analog and digital electronics.
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Emir Emre

One of the youngest composer/performers on this website Emir Emre, was born in 1990 in Istanbul. He started his musical studies by playing electro-guitar at the age of 13.
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Eray Düzgünsoy

Born in Adapazari in 1982, the composer/performer/producer Eray Düzgünsoy is studying musicology and composition with Alper Maral at Yildiz Technical University (Istanbul), Faculty of Art and Design, Department of Audio Design.
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Ömer Sarıgedik

Born in Istanbul in 1985 Ömer Sarıgedik studied Audio design and Music technologies at Yildiz Teknik University.
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Ataç Sezer

With eight or nine years old knew Ataç Sezer, who was born in 1979 in Istanbul, that he wanted to show the world differently than it has been shown, and it was unclear just yet whether he would do as a painter, a musician or a writer.
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