Meral Güneyman

Pianist Meral Güneyman was trained at the Istanbul State Conservatory in Turkey, Mozarteum Academy in Salzburg, and the Juilliard School, where she was a two time winner of the Maria Guerra Judelson award. She made her orchestral debut in the United States under the baton of Maestro Michael Tilson Thomas and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. She was promptly reengaged by Tilson Thomas to play the Schumann Concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony. Her Carnegie Hall debut won her the East & West Artists International Competition. As co-winner of William Kapell International Competition at the University of Maryland, she performed with Leon Fleisher and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Her accolades further include first prize in Juilliard School′s Chopin Concerto Competition and Naumburg Competition finalist, which, once again, brought her to Carnegie Hall.

Güneyman has been invited to many international music festivals such as the Cervantes and Monterrey Festivals in Mexico; the International Istanbul Festival, the American Music Festival at the National Gallery in Washington D.C., the Frederick Chopin Festival, and the Ljubliana Festival in Slovenia. She has taught and concertized at Harvard, Princeton, New York University, Georgetown, SUNY at Purchase, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Bosphorus University in Istanbul.

Her recordings, regardless of the genre, have been received with universal acclaim. Her first commercial recording for the Finnadar Label (WMG) of the Frank Bridge Sonata was heralded as among the top five of the year by Fanfare Magazine. Her last recording "Playful Virtuosity" (Rykodisc) with Jazz pianist Dick Hyman has received international praise and was selected album of the week by German Radio Mikado. The album "Danzas Tropicales" was released in 2010. Güneyman currently lives and works in New Jersey, USA.

Reference: meralguneyman.com, instantencore.com