Biography

Composer/performer Önder Özkoç, who grew up with the folk songs his parents sang to his ears and is in search of a new expression, defines his music as an effort to find a natural waterway that has evolved by being nourished by the Turkish Music environment he has been in since his childhood.

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Özkoç, who writes music for a wide variety of genres, styles, and instrument combinations, participated in many events in Turkey and abroad with his music as an invited speaker, has given lectures on maqam music, Turkish Folk Music, and Modern Turkish Music at Carnegie Mellon University and Gheorghe Dima Music Academy.

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Özkoç, whose main areas of work are maqam geography music, pre-Baroque music, cultural crossings, and 20th and 21st-century music, also has studies on modal and maqam music culture-based education systems, in addition to his composition.

 

Growing up in the cultural environment of Erzurum, Kars, and Konya, Özkoç studied at Hacettepe University Economics (eng.) between 1996-2000 and at Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory Composition Department between 2000-2008. Özkoç, who was musically self-taught before entering the conservatory, studied composition at the conservatory, first with Sevgi Ünal and then with Serdar Muhatov for a long time. He completed his Master's and Proficiency in Art studies in composition with Turgay Erdener at Hacettepe University. He gave lectures at Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory Composition Department between 2008 and 2021. He has been working as an associate professor at Ankara Music and Fine Arts University Composition Department since 2021.

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For more information: ozkoconder.com