Turkish pianist Baris Buyukyildirim is known for his technically brilliant playing and his versatility in virtually every genre. As a solo concert performer, orchestra soloist, collaborator, educator, opera coach and repetiteur, and jazz musician, Mr. Buyukyildirim has performed throughout the United States and Europe, in Canada, and in his native Turkey. Recent highlights include performances of George Crumb’s Makrokosmos in CKM Istanbul, Ravel’s Piano Concerto with the Antalya State Symphony Orchestra, solo recital at Steinway Hall New York, Saint-Saens’s Carnival of Animals with Leyla Gencer Symphony Orchestra, Gershwin’s I got Rhythm Variations with the Theater Kiel Orchestra in Germany and Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no. V with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. Baris is currently a member of Trio Likya and Diskant Ensemble in Istanbul and has performed as guest with Tatcus Ensemble and Claremont Ensemble in New York. Baris is also active as a collaborative pianist having worked as a rehearsal pianist at the Cincinnati Opera, as coach/repetiteur at Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, coach and performance pianist for the BASOTI festival in San Francisco and Graduate Accompanist for Instrumental and Vocal Departments at Manhattan School of Music-New York.
Baris’ interest in jazz led him to his collaborations with Rolando Matias, Brian Lynch, Othello Molineux, David Sanchez. He is featured in the jazz recording Rolando Matias Live, Volume One, and Birds Ensemble. Some of the conductors he has worked with include, Jeffry Milarski, Aleks Katsmann, Jorge Parodi, Richard Buckley, Sascha Goetzel, Mark Gibson, Annunziata Tomaro, Kelly Kuo, Georg Fritzsch ,Cem Mansur, Orhan Şallıel. He is the first prize winner of the MARITIM Competition and Piano Competition of Ministery of Culture in Turkey. He holds DAAD Prize, Kiwanis Preis Merit Award, Sedat-Güzin Gürel Foundation Art&Science Award and Marie Luis Imbusch Stiftung.
Buyukyildirim is currently holding an assistant professor position at the Istanbul University State Conservatory and teaching as guest lecturer at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University State Conservatory. He began studying piano with Prof. Selcuk and Kamuran Gundemir at the Ankara State Conservatory, and then Prof. Konstanze Eickhorst at the Musikhochschule Lubeck in Germany. He has studied with Prof. James Tocco at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music and attended Manhattan School of Music studying contemporary music performance degree under Anthoy De Mare and Christopher Oldfather. He has worked with Irwin Gage, Sabine Meyer, Troels Svane, Lynn Dawson, Malcolm Bilson, Lee Fiser, Leslie Howard, Jura Margulis, Konrad Elser, Kenneth Griffiths, Burak Bilgili, Cihat Aşkın.
