Murat Aydemir

Murat Aydemir is a leading tanbur virtuoso, composer and educator in classical Turkish music. Born in Hannover, Germany, on October 23, 1971, Aydemir began his musical education in 1982 at the ITU Turkish Music State Conservatory. He studied the tanbur for ten years under Necip Gülses, graduating in 1992.

Aydemir began his professional career in 1989 as a guest artist with the Ministry of Culture’s Istanbul State Turkish Music Ensemble. During this period, he had the opportunity to work with masters such as Necdet Yaşar, Bekir Sıdkı Sezgin, Alâeddin Yavaşça, İhsan Özgen, Cinuçen Tanrıkorur and Erol Deran. In 1990, he joined the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s Istanbul State Classical Turkish Music Choir, under the direction of Prof. Dr. Nevzat Atlığ. He continues his tenure at this prestigious institution, which was renamed the Presidential Classical Turkish Music Choir in 2012.

In his recording career, he released the “Ahenk” series (1997, 2006) with kemençe master Derya Türkan and the “Neva” albums (2002, 2009) with ney master Salih Bilgin. He reached a wider audience in 1997 with the establishment of the İncesaz group, which he formed with Cengiz Onural and Derya Türkan; he utilized his compositions in the group’s albums and in various TV series and documentary soundtracks, playing also the lavta in these works. He also recorded two albums for the “Kantemiroğlu Edvarı” with the Cantemir Ensemble, which he founded in 1999.

In his solo career, he released the albums “Murat Aydemir Solo” (2008), “Murat Aydemir Trio” (2011), “Murat Aydemir Masal” (2017), and “Troy” (2025). He also participated in interdisciplinary projects such as “Itrî & Bach” (2013) with cellist Çağ Erçağ and duduk virtuoso Ertan Tekin.

Aydemir’s comprehensive book on Turkish music makams, titled “Makam Guide” (Pan Yayıncılık, 2014), has been published in Turkish, English, German, and Greek. His educational books “Tanbur Metodu” (2018) and “Çeşni Rehberi” (2022) are also available.

Internationally, Murat Aydemir has participated in Kudsi Erguner’s projects and has been teaching and performing at Ross Daly’s Labyrinth Music School in Crete since 2011.