Murat Cem Orhan

Recently acclaimed as the new General Artistic Director of CRR Concert Hall in Istanbul, the conductor / composer Orhan is one of the finalists of 4th. Svetlanov Conducting Competition which was held in Paris in 2018. After having graduated from the opera singing department of Dokuz Eylül University State Conservatory in Izmir, he studied his master degrees in Istanbul University State Conservatory and Brooklyn College of Music, New York. He has been a graduate student of orchestral conducting with Maestro Antonio Pirolli in Mimar Sinan University State Conservatory in Istanbul.

Orhan attended the conducting masterclasses of Maestro Jorma Panula in Poland, Maestro Alparslan Ertungealp in Budapest, Maestro Michel Tabaschnik in Accademia Chigiana Musicale, Maestro Prof. Rengim Gökmen in Izmir and Maestro William Hicks Choir Conductor of Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 2016, he made a successful Germany debut with Heidelberg Sinfonietta acclaimed by public and critics with Fazıl Say’s orchestral piece at the Heidelberg Spring Festival. Furthermore, he conducted every State Symphony Orchestra and Opera Houses in Turkey. Among his large symphonic repertory, he conducted G. Puccini’s Turandot, G. Donizetti’s L’Elisir D’Amore, L.v. Beethoven’s Fidelio, W.A. Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Cosi Fan Tutte, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Don Giovanni; Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, D. Cimarosa’s Il Matrimonio Segreto, G. Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, M.Sabahattin’s Ayse Operetta and the ballet collage of P.I. Tchaikovsky’s music Romeo&Juliet.

He has given concerts with great artists such as Fazıl Say, Boris Berezovsky, Kristof Barati, Sabine Meyer, Pietro Spagnoli, Marina Viotti Selim Aykal, Gülsin Onay, and many more. In addition to his conducting career, he is a two times first prize winner of N.F. Eczacıbaşı National Composing Competition. (2010/2012). He composed 3 musicals for children. In 2018, after Nazım Hikmet’s epic poem “Kuva-yi Milliye” he composed a stage piece called “Human Landscapes of Kuva-yi Milliye”. In 2020, he composed his second stage piece commissioned by Gedik Art foundation, called “Ölmeme Günü” after poems of 3 important Turkish poets. His compositions are played by State Symphony Orchestras and Opera Houses in Turkey. Being fluent in French, English and Italian, Orhan pursues his artistic activities in Istanbul.