Dr. Tolga Yayalar

Tolga Yayalar graduated from Istanbul Technical University, Advance Studies in Music. He then studied Jazz composition and Jazz guitar at the Berklee College of Music. In 2010, he received his doctoral degree at Harvard University. As a result of his encounter with the music of Anton Webern, his first "classical" works incorporated serialist techniques with a jazz idiom. As of today, Yayalar′s music focuses on different systems of microtonality and reflects his interest in architecture, psychoanalysis and post-structural narratives. His music has been performed in the US, Europe and Latin America at many festivals by various ensembles such as Ying Quartet and Orchestre National de Lorraine and Garth Knox. His piece "Inflect for alto saxophone and percussion" has been released by the Yesarcun Duo on GM records. Yayalar has received many awards and honors including Donald Aird Memorial prize, Adelbert Sprague composition prize, Blodgett String Quartet Composition prize, George Arthur Knight Prize, Millenium Chamber Players competition prize, and the League of Composers/ISCM composition award. Dr. Yayalar currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Music at Bilkent University.

Reference: yayalar.com, bilkentcomposition.wordpress.com, newmusicistanbul.com