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Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol
Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol (2014)
Born (1974-09-24) 24 September 1974 (age 50)
Istanbul, Turkey
Occupation(s)Composer, performer, scholar
Parent(s)Hüseyin Parkan Sanlıkol
Fethiye Sanlıkol
Websitewww.sanlikol.com

Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol (born September 24, 1974) is a Grammy nominated Turkish-American composer[1] and CMES Harvard University fellow[2] who is a jazz pianist and singer that also performs a number of Near and Middle Eastern instruments[3] as well as the keyboardless synthesizer Continuum Fingerboard[4] and the SANLIKOL Renaissance 17, a digital microtonal keyboard designed and conceived by himself.[5] The Boston Globe calls Sanlıkol's music “colorful, fanciful, full of rhythmic life, and full of feeling" and "not touristy, but rather sophisticated, informed, internalized”, “...and he (Sanlıkol) is another who could play decisive role in music’s future in the world.”[6] He is currently a full-time faculty member at New England Conservatory's Music History & Musicology Department and is the director of the Intercultural Institute at New England Conservatory.

Biography

Early life

The son of two Turkish-Cypriots, Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol was born in Istanbul, Turkey. His father, Hüseyin Parkan Sanlıkol, was a medical doctor who got appointed by the state to a hospital in Bursa, Turkey to where the family moved in 1975. He studied western classical piano with his mother Fethiye Sanlıkol and started giving piano recitals as early as age five.[7] After studying the first year of middle school in Cyprus Sanlıkol returned to Bursa. Throughout his teenage years he played keyboards in progressive rock bands and participated in rock festivals in Bursa along with Şebnem Ferah and Tarkan Gözübüyük.

Education

Sanlıkol moved to Istanbul in the Fall of 1992 and studied with Turkish composer/jazz pianist Aydın Esen for about a year after which he won a scholarship to [[

SANLIKOL Renaissance 17, a digital microtonal keyboard conceived and designed by Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol

lee College of Music]].[8] While at Berklee Sanlıkol studied jazz composition with accomplished composers such as Herb Pomeroy and Ken Pullig. He graduated from Berklee with a dual degree in Jazz composition and Film Scoring in 1997, and completed a master's degree in Jazz Studies at New England Conservatory in 2000. After studying with composers George Russell, Bob Brookmeyer, and Lee Hyla, Sanlıkol completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at New England Conservatory in 2004 .[9]

Career

Sanlıkol formed his first 8-piece jazz band with the support of Berklee College of Music and toured Turkey in 1996 as "Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol and the Berklee Band". In 1997 he co-founded the electric jazz band "AudioFact" with Onur Türkmen.[10] Between 1997 and 2003 AudioFact performed numerous times at distinguished clubs and festivals in the US, South America, Europe and Turkey including Blue Note Jazz Club in NY,[11] Ryles Jazz Club in Boston, Oliverio Jazz Club in Buenos Aires, Istanbul International Jazz Festival, İzmir European Jazz Festival, International Ankara Music Festival and International Bursa Music Festival. AudioFact also released two albums in 1998 and 2003 in which they featured Bob Brookmeyer, Tiger Okoshi, Okay Temiz and Ercan Irmak.[12]

In 2002 Sanlıkol received his first major commission to write a piece for PALS children's chorus with a soprano and tenor accompanied by Turkish instruments and a chamber ensemble. The resulting piece was a cantata, entitled Ergenekon: an ancient Turkish legend. While this piece's premiere was successful,[6] beginning in late 2000 Sanlıkol had already shifted his focus toward extensively studying a wide range of Turkish and related musical traditions of which he knew very little since he grew up with European and American musics in his household.[8] The discovery and exploration of his roots prompted him in helping find the non-profit organization DÜNYA based in Boston, Massachusetts along with Robert Labaree and his wife, Serap Kantarcı Sanlıkol in late 2003. Sanlıkol is the president of DÜNYA, a musicians’ collective and a record label, dedicated to exploring a cosmopolitan view of the world through the lens of a wide range of Turkish traditions, alone and in conversation with other world traditions.[13] The unique nature of DÜNYA resulted in Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol going on the air numerous times on NPR and PRI as well as repeated coverage by the press.[14]

While studying Turkish and related regional traditional musics Sanlıkol continued experimenting with newer ways of combining his acquired musical languages. A second cantata written for PALS children's chorus accompanied by a tenor, Turkish instruments and a chamber ensemble, entitled Keloğlan: The Bald Boy and His Magic Lute, was one such follow-up attempt in 2007.[15] However, Sanlıkol's permanent return to composition of concert music and jazz occurred in late 2011 when he was commissioned by American Islamic Congress to compose a piece for jazz combo infused with Turkish instruments that was inspired by his own story of self-discovery about coming to learn Turkish music and culture in the United States.[16] This was followed by commissions from A Far Cry string orchestra, the Boston Cello Quartet and Carnegie Hall which led to premieres and performances at respected venues including Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood,[17] Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum[18] and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall by American Composers Orchestra.[19]

On the other hand, his “coffeehouse opera”, entitled Othello in the Seraglio: The Tragedy of Sümbül The Black Eunuch, bridges the musical cultures of opera house and coffeehouse, Baroque Italy and Ottoman Turkey. With music from 16th and 17th century European and Turkish sources, arranged, adapted and woven together with original music by Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol, this unique music drama is being performed on European period instruments and traditional Turkish instruments by an ensemble of specialists in those fields and, it has achieved the unique success of being a new opera that has been performed 14 times within a year and a half since its premiere.[20]

Sanlıkol's first jazz orchestra album was JAZZIZ magazine's Top 10 Critics’ Choice 2014 pick,[21] his second jazz orchestra album was DownBeat magazine's September 2016 Editor's Pick,[22] "The Rise Up", commissioned by NEA Jazz Master Dave Liebman, received a 4 star review from The Financial Times,[23] and his trio album "An Elegant Ritual" was listed among JAZZIZ's Top 10 July 2021 albums.[24] He has composed for, performed and toured with international stars and ensembles such as Dave Liebman, Billy Cobham, Bob Brookmeyer, Anat Cohen, Esperanza Spalding, Antonio Sanchez, Gil Goldstein, Tiger Okoshi, Tommy Smith (saxophonist), Miguel Zenón, Boston Camerata, A Far Cry string orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, Boston Cello Quartet, Erkan Oğur and Brenna MacCrimmon.[25] Sanlıkol actively delivers papers and talks at academic conferences such as International Conference on Analytical Approaches to World Music and Society for Ethnomusicology and, his first book, entitled The Musician Mehters, about the organization and the music of the Ottoman Janissary Bands has been published during 2011 in English by The ISIS press[26] and in Turkish by Yapı Kredi Publications.[27] His second book, entitled Reform, Notation and Ottoman music in Early 19th Century Istanbul: EUTERPE, was published by Routledge in 2023 [28]

Personal life

Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol has been living in Boston, MA since 1993 and is married to Serap Kantarcı Sanlıkol. The couple has a daughter, Suzan Selin Sanlıkol, born in 2006.

Awards/Distinctions

  • South Arts Jazz Road Creative Residency Grant, 2021 [29]
  • Massachusetts Cultural Council Traditional Artist Apprenticeships Master Artist, 2021 & 2022 [30]
  • New Music USA Project Grant, 2020 [31]
  • The Aaron Copland Fund for Music Recording Program Grant, 2020 [32]
  • Live Arts Boston Grant from The Boston Foundation, 2020 [33]
  • The American Turkish Society Moon & Stars Project Grant, 2020 [34]
  • Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellowship Finalist, 2019 [35]
  • Live Arts Boston Grant from The Boston Foundation, 2019 [36]
  • TEDx Talk, 2019 [37]
  • Live Arts Boston Grant from The Boston Foundation, 2018 [38]
  • Creative City Grant from New England England Foundation for the Arts, 2017 [39]
  • The Aaron Copland Fund for Music Performance Program Grant, 2016 [40]
  • Paul R. Judy Center for Applied Research Grant from Eastman School of Music, 2015 [41]
  • Grammy award nomination with A Far Cry string orchestra, 2014
  • Associate of the Music Department designation at Harvard University, 2013
  • Fellowship in Turkish Culture and Art granted by Turkish Cultural Foundation, 2012 [42]
  • Clare Fischer Award from the Professional Writing Division of Berklee College of Music, 1997

Music

Orchestral works

  • Karagöz Orient Ekspresinde (Karagöz on the Orient Express): esrarengiz bir müzikli komedi (a mysterious musical comedy) (2020) - tenor & jazz piano trio with Orchestra
  • Harabat/The Intoxicated (2015) - tenor & ud with Orchestra
  • Symphonia Phrygia: a liturgical drama – Symphony No. 1 (2004) – Byzantine and Polyphonic Choir with Orchestra

String orchestra

  • A Gentleman of Istanbul: Symphony for Strings, Percussion, Piano, Oud, Ney & Tenor (2018)
  • Vecd (2012)

Opera

  • Othello in the Seraglio: The tragedy of Sümbül the black eunuch (2015) – a "Coffeehouse Opera" in 2 Acts composed for 4 singers and chamber ensemble featuring European period instruments, Turkish instruments and an actor

Choral works

  • Devran – in 2 movements: I. “Ey gönül neylersin sen bu cihanı”, II. “Mevlan senin aşıkların devran iderler Hu ile” (2017)
  • Şu yalan dünya (2015) – tenor, choir and piano
  • Mukabele – in 3 movements: I. “Niyaz”, II. “Meydan”, III. “Sema” (2014)
  • Çayda çıra (1998) – choir and piano

For Children's Choir:

  • Keloğlan: The Bald boy and his magic lute (2007) – Children's choir, tenor and mixed chamber ensemble with Turkish instruments
  • Ergenekon: An Ancient Turkish legend (2002) – Children's choir, tenor, soprano and mixed chamber ensemble with Turkish instruments

Chamber works

  • كن (KÛN) (2021) – violin and piano
  • Byzantium (2008) – large chamber ensemble
  • Misterioso (1999) – clarinet in Bb and piano
  • A Princess who is in love with the color purple – in 2 movements (1998) – flute and piano

Cello quartet

  • The Blue Typhoon (2014)

Jazz orchestra

  • From the 7 Hills of New Rome to the City upon a Hill (2023)
  • On the edge of the extreme possible (2000)
  • What’s next? (1998)
  • N.O.H.A. (1997)

With a soloist:

  • The Rise Up (2019) – Jazz Orchestra and soprano saxophone
  • Temmuz (2017) – Jazz Orchestra and zurna/ney/voice
  • The Turkish 2nd Line/New Orleans Çiftetellisi (2015) – Jazz Orchestra and clarinet in Bb
  • Concerto for Soprano Saxophone and Jazz Orchestra in C – in 3 movements: I. Medium Funk “Rebellion”, II. Ballad “Reminiscence”, III. Up-tempo Swing “Resolution” (2015)

Jazz combo

  • Better stay home (1999)
  • Gone crazy: a noir fantasy (1996)
  • The Blue soul of Turkoromero (1996)

With Turkish instruments:

  • Suite in 3 movements as part of "Abraham": I. The Fire, II. The Sacrifice, III. The Call (2019)
  • A Jazzed up Devr-i Revan (2014)
  • An Afro Semai (2012)
  • Palindrome (2012)

With a solo instrument and/or voice:

  • A Dream in Nihavend (2014) – Jazz Combo and Continuum Fingerboard
  • Whirl around (2003)
  • A Violet longing (1996)

Jazz quintet/quartet/trio

  • In Search/Arayış (2019)
  • An Elegant Ritual (2017)
  • Umut/Hope (2009)
  • Buselik (2004)
  • Hasret: Anadolu Jazz (2003)
  • Lost Inside (2002)
  • The 7th day (2002)
  • Dere geliyor dere (2000)
  • Jasmine (1999)
  • Mr. Downtown (1999)
  • Can’t put you aside (1996)
  • King of Boston (1996)
  • Tribal joke (1996)
  • Black dance (1995)
  • Hearing Africa (1995)

Hybrid ensembles

  • A Sultaniyegah Fantasy (2011) – ney, kemençe (pear-shaped fiddle), viola da gamba and bass recorder
  • A Kürdilihicazkar Canon for sackbut and voice (2011)
  • Rast Fantezi (2010) – 3 zurnas, 2 clarinets in Bb, 3 trumpets in Bb, French horn, trombone, tuba, 2 nekkares (small kettledrums), 2 bass drums, 2 cymbals and kös (large kettledrum)
  • Merhaba (2006) – 2 tenors, sackbut and yaylı tanbur (bowed long-necked lute)
  • Ottomanist (2001) – 3 zurnas, 2 clarinets in Bb, 3 trumpets in Bb, French horn, trombone, 2 nekkares, 2 bass drums, 2 cymbals and kös
  • Rast Peşrev (2001) – ney, clarinet in Bb, oboe, 2 trumpets in Bb, trombone, French horn, kudüm (small kettledrums), daire (frame drum with cymbals) and kös

Classical Turkish music ensemble

  • Pencgah Peşrev (2008)
  • Beyati Peşrev “Hanım Sultan Peşrevi” (2004)

With voices:

  • Nefes, Deyiş & İlahi (2005)
  • Ben bir acep ile geldim (2004)
  • A Buselik Canon (2001)

Selected discography

  • An Elegant Ritual (Dünya, 2021)

Albums with Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol & Whatsnext?

  • Whatsnext? (Dünya, 2014)
  • Resolution (Dünya, 2016)
  • The Rise Up (Dünya, 2020)

Albums with AudioFact

  • Black Spot (Kalan, 1998)
  • Asitane (Aura/EMI, 2003)

Albums with various DÜNYA ensembles

  • Come see what love has done to me (Dünya, 2005)
  • The Psalms of Ali Ufki (Dünya, 2006)
  • Music of Cyprus (Dünya/Kalan, 2007)
  • Lale Ve Kılıç/The Tulip and The Sword (Dünya, 2007)
  • Kuş Dili: The Language of Birds (Dünya, 2008)
  • Dünya Size Güller Bize/For You The World, For Us The Roses (Dünya, 2009)
  • A Story of The City: Constantinople, Istanbul (Dünya, 2011)
  • A Sacred Music Celebration: Greek Orthodoxy and Turkish Sufism (Dünya, 2011)

Album with Crier Records

  • A Gentleman of Istanbul: Symphony for Strings, Percussion, Piano, Oud, Ney & Tenor (Crier Records, 2023)

Album with Shanti Records

  • Abraham: Music for Three Faiths (feat. Jazzaar Global Ensemble & Billy Cobham) (Shanti, 2019)

Singles

  • Hatam Ne?/Where Did I Go Wrong? (Dünya, 2014)

Concert DVDs

  • Wisdom and Turkish Humor (Dünya, 2007)

Films

  • Othello in the Seraglio (Dünya, 2019)

Documentary films

  • What a World (Dünya, 2014)

References

  1. ^ "Grammy nominations favor popular tastes, bestsellers – The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com.
  2. ^ "who's who : mehmet-ali sanlikol". www.turkishculture.org.
  3. ^ "Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, 'whatsnext?' – The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com.
  4. ^ "Jazz Review: Mehmet Ali Sanlikol & whatsnext at Scullers – An Intoxicating Mix". The Arts Fuse. October 4, 2014.
  5. ^ "Renaissance 17". www.sanlikol.com.
  6. ^ a b "Boston Globe Online: Print it!". www.tacsne.org.
  7. ^ Jazz, All About (22 June 2014). "Mehmet Ali Sanlikol: Mehmet Sanlikol: What's Next?". All About Jazz.
  8. ^ a b "Mehmet Ali Sanlikol: 'Reconstructing My Identity' In Music". March 22, 2016.
  9. ^ "The Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture". The Mary Jaharis Center.
  10. ^ "Audio Fact music, videos, stats, and photos". Last.fm. 13 January 2023.
  11. ^ "LM_Jazz with Audio Fact with Tiger Okoshi and Okay Temiz, Spring'01". www.lightmillennium.org.
  12. ^ "Audio Fact: Album Discography". AllMusic.
  13. ^ "About". www.dunyainc.org.
  14. ^ "Press". www.dunyainc.org.
  15. ^ "Karagoz Notes" (PDF). www.dunyainc.org.
  16. ^ "Rooted in world music – The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com.
  17. ^ Ledbetter, Steven (August 20, 2015). "Ma's Backward Cello Bash". The Boston Musical Intelligencer.
  18. ^ Sammut, Andrew (September 9, 2012). "The Criers Were Spirited and Spiritual". The Boston Musical Intelligencer.
  19. ^ "American Composers Orchestra". carnegiehall.org/. 2015-03-01. Archived from the original on 2015-03-01. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
  20. ^ Writer, Gail McCarthy Staff (8 June 2016). "Cultures mingle in new coffeehouse opera in Rockport this weekend". Gloucester Daily Times.
  21. ^ Jazziz on disc. Winter, 2015, Vol. 5. Winter, 2015, Vol. 5. October 3, 2015. OCLC 903546243.
  22. ^ "Crossover Media". www.crossovermedia.net.
  23. ^ "Mehmet Ali Sanlikol & Whatsnext?: The Rise Up — an impressively executed project". Financial Times. 28 August 2020.
  24. ^ "10 Albums You Need to Know: July 2021". jazziz.com. 2021-07-01.
  25. ^ "Officers". www.dunyainc.org.
  26. ^ Sanlıkol, Mehmet Ali (2011). The Musician Mehters. Isis Press. ISBN 978-975-428-428-7.
  27. ^ "Çalıcı Mehterler". kitap.ykykultur.com.tr.
  28. ^ "Reform, Notation and Ottoman music in Early 19th Century Istanbul: EUTERPE". routledge.com.
  29. ^ "Grant Recipient". southarts.org.
  30. ^ "Funding List". Mass Cultural Council.
  31. ^ "ANNOUNCING THE 2020 NEW MUSIC USA PROJECT GRANT AWARDS". newmusicusa.org.
  32. ^ "2020 Recording Program Application Awardees". coplandfund.org.
  33. ^ "Congratulations to the Live Arts Boston 2020 grantees!". www.tbf.org.
  34. ^ "Meet our Moon & Stars Project Grant Recipients for 2020!". www.americanturkishsociety.org.
  35. ^ "Funding List". Mass Cultural Council.
  36. ^ "Diverse cohort of 61 artists and arts groups share nearly $800,000 in Live Arts Boston grants". www.tbf.org.
  37. ^ "Embracing an Uncomfortable Globalism". www.youtube.com.
  38. ^ "Live Arts Boston 2018 Grantees". www.tbf.org.
  39. ^ "NEFA Announces Creative City's Round Four Grantees | NEFA". www.nefa.org. 13 April 2017.
  40. ^ "2016 Performance Program Application Awardees". The Aaron Copland Fund for Music. 2019-09-23. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
  41. ^ "2015 Paul R. Judy Center Grants: Awards to Support 9 Projects".
  42. ^ "2012-2013 Fellows". www.turkishculturalfoundation.org.
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