Born in 1955, Necati Çelik began his career playing in the Mevlevi brotherhoods of Konya, where he was one of the first oud players to conceive of the ‘ûd as a Sufi instrument. Today, he has established himself as a grand master of the oud. An unrivalled virtuoso with refined, complex playing, he is deeply rooted in the classical tradition, making him one of the leading exponents of the Turkish ‘ûd today. Ambassador of Ottoman music, he has been travelling the world as a guest lecturer and solo artist for over 30 years.

Necati Çelik is a musical legend who is considered to be directly related to the current blossoming of classical Turkish music. Alongside neyzen Sadreddin Özçimi, he is amongst the oldest descendants of a lineage of grand masters initiated by the late tanbur virtuoso Necdet Yaşar and living legend Niyazi Sahin, who insured the perpetuation of the Ottoman music legacy throughout the second half of the 20th Century up to the present day.