Biography

Murat Cem Orhan, a Turkish conductor and composer, possesses a notably diverse range of musical engagements and an extensive repertoire. He currently holds esteemed positions as the Music Director and Chief Conductor of the CRR Symphony Orchestra, while also serving as the Artistic Director of CRR Concert Hall.

Highlights of Murat Cem Orhan’s upcoming season include debuts with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, and Azerbaijan Opera Orchestra, as well as a debut concert at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam with the Olten Philharmonic Orchestra.

Based in Istanbul and fluent in French, English, and Italian, he has conducted all of the country’s orchestras and opera houses, including the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, the Presidential Symphony Orchestra, Istanbul State Opera, and the Ankara State Opera Houses. Notable highlights from the previous season include performances with the Zielona Góra Philharmonic Orchestra in Poland, the Pori Sinfonietta in Finland, the Slovak Radio Symphony in Slovakia, the Albanian Radio Television Symphony in Albania, the Heidelberg Sinfonietta in Germany, the Atlántida Chamber Orchestra in Madrid, Orchestra Sinfonica Città di Grosseto in Italy, and the Baku State Opera House, among others.

Furthermore, he collaborated with the Orchester national de Metz Grand Est on a special project, jointly establishing a fund to provide instruments to musicians affected by the earthquake in Turkey in 2023 as part of the Istanbul Music Festival initiative. Additionally, he made his debut at Teatro Fraschini’s Preludi D’Autunno Festival with the CRR Symphony Orchestra, presenting a program featuring pieces by Turkish composers such as Ulvi Cemal Erkin, Ferit Tüzün, Turgay Erdener, and Cemal Reşit Rey. His critically acclaimed recordings include the Turkish Flute Concertos with soloist Bülent Evcil.

He has conducted concerts alongside renowned artists, including Fazıl Say, Maxim Vengerov, Sabine Meyer, Boris Berezovsky, Pietro Spagnoli, Dmitry Shishkin, Dag Jensen, Lucas Macías Navarro, Bruno Schneider, Alban Gerhardt, Kristóf Baráti, Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, Joë Christophe, and many others. In his extensive symphonic repertoire, he has conducted notable works such as 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,” D. Cimarosa’s “Il Matrimonio Segreto,” and G. Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia.”

In addition to his conducting career, he is a two-time first prize winner of the N.F. Eczacıbaşı National Composing Competition (2010/2012). He has also composed three musicals for children. Notably, in 2018, inspired by Nazım Hikmet’s epic poem “Kuva-yi Milliye,” he created an oratorio titled “Human Landscapes of Kuva-yi Milliye.” Furthermore, in 2020, he composed his second stage piece commissioned by the Gedik Art Foundation, named “Ölmeme Günü,” featuring poems by three influential Turkish poets. His compositions have been performed by State Symphony Orchestras and Opera Houses in Turkey.

Murat Cem Orhan was among the finalists in the 4th Svetlanov Conducting Competition held in Paris in 2018. He pursued his graduate studies in orchestral conducting under the guidance of Maestro Antonio Pirolli at the Mimar Sinan University State Conservatory in Istanbul. Additionally, he enriched his expertise by attending conducting masterclasses led by Maestro Jorma Panula in Poland, Maestro Alparslan Ertungealp in Budapest, Maestro Michel Tabaschnik at the Accademia Chigiana Musicale, and Maestro William Hicks, the Choir Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York.