Mehmet Cemal Yesilcay, who continues to act as composer, arranger and lute player, was born in Istanbul. He moved to Germany and continued great parts of his works there. He was lectured lute from Çinuçen Tanrıkorur and Turkish sacral music (Sufi Music) from Seyyid Nusret Yesilcay; where he decided the Sufi Music as his branch and performed significant and lasting works. He has worked with Opera singer Edita Gruberova, composer Hans Werner Henze, Leonard Bernstein and Miles Davis in several concerts and performed in SARBAND and CONCERTO KÖLN orchestras. In addition, he has presented an album named CLUB MARKIZ (recorded 5.1 surround system) and EX ORIENTE LUX together with some famous Turkish musician, pop and jazz artists.
Mehmet C. Yesilcay is the director of the PERA ENSEMBLE.
More than 200 concerts worldwide as ud player with the ensemble SARBAND concerts with Concerto Kln (Alla Turca)
Soloist on numerous Jazz- and Ethno-music projects
Musical director and conductor of the FERAHFEZA and EMRE ensemble
Musical adviser and soloist at the 1. Münchner Biennale in association with Hans Werner Henze
Composer of various orchestral, instrumental, and vocal works.
Recorded various thematic CDs: the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, Ottoman music, etc.
Awards from the federal television- and broadcasting institution of Turkey TRT
Nominated for the cultural award by the Landeshauptstadt Muenchen (state capital, Munich)
Composed several Film Scores
Collaboration with the ensemble for historical and traditional music by the Cabinet of Cultures (under the leadership of Ahmet Ozhan)
Concerts and arrangements of works by the composer Eric Satie
Concerts, as Musical Director with large Sufi Orchestra (Mevlevi) at, among others, the Munchner Philharmonie
Composition and arrangement of arias of Handel for the soprano Edita Gruberova
Dolby-Surround 5.1 Production Club Markiz
Solo project and album EX ORIENTE LUX
Collaboration with L ..arte del Mondo (Mozart, Hndel, Rossi, and Demantius)
Studies of compositions and lute (UD) under Cinucen. Tanrikorur
Studies of theological music (Sufimusic) under Seyyid Nusret Yesilcay
Collaboration with Hans Werner Henze, Leonard Bernstein, Edita Gruberova, Robert Crowe, Ahmet Özhan
Pop and R'n'B Productions; Co-Productions with JCA and Jerome Isma-e; Mehmet C. Yesilcay is the director of the Pera Ensemble www.pera-ensemble.com
Official Pera-Ensemble Website www.pera-ensemble.com