Gürer Aykal was born in Eskişehir in 1942. He studied violin under Necdet Remzi Atak (graduated in 1963) and composition under Ahmed Adnan Saygun (graduated in 1969) at the Ankara State Conservatory. In the same year he went to London to continue his study at the Guildhall School of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, where he studied with such prominent conductors as André Previn and George Hurst. Aykal then went to Italy for further study, graduating with a D.M.A. in conducting from Santa Cecilia Academy of Music in Rome in 1973. Meanwhile he also studied Gregorian chant and polyphonic Renaissance music with Prof. Bertolucci at the Pontificio Istituto di Musica Sacra.
Aykal has conducted the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks Hamburg and the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra. He founded the Ankara Chamber Orchestra with Suna Kan and conducted it both in Turkey and abroad. In 1975 Aykal was appointed as the principal conductor of the Presidential Symphony Orchestra in Ankara. He also served as a general director of the State Opera and Ballet.
Aykal was the music director of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra in Texas (1987-1991); the music director of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra in Texas (1992-2004). In 1981 Aykal was awarded the title of State Artist for his services and contributions to music from the Turkish government. Aykal taught orchestra conducting at Indiana (Bloomington) University, Texas Technical University and U.T.E.P. in the United States. He is also a professor of conducting at Bilkent University and Mimar Sinan University, State Conservatory in Turkey. He has been the musical director and principal conductor of the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra since 1999.
He has recorded the works of a wide range of composers–Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Elgar, Smetana, Ravel, Erkin and Saygun–with a number of prominent orchestras, such as the London Philharmonic, Norddeutscher Rundfunk Radiophilharmonie NDR, the Ankara Chamber Orchestra, Bilkent Symphony Orchestra and the Presidential Symphony Orchestra.
Aykal has undertaken to establish and to develop Antalya State Symphony Orchestra, which is the youngest State Symphony Orchestra. He performed with this orchestra at Aspendos Antique Theatre to thousands of Turkish and foreign music lovers. Aykal, the founder of Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra and its General Music Director and Principal Conductor since 1999, became the honorary conductor of the orchestra in 2008. He was decorated with Finnish State Medal in May 2008 for his contributions to cultural cooperation between Turkey and Finland. He also was nominated as “the artist of the year” by Turkish Journalists Association in 1999 for “his successful efforts in promoting modern Turkish Republic through music both at home and abroad”. Aykal was also conferred the International Prize for the Performing Arts category by Latium between Europe and the Mediterranean on July 3, 2008. The award-giving ceremony was held in Rome at Complesso del Vittoriano.
Reference: wikipedia.org; borusansanat.com
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