Tevfik Akbasli

Tevfik Akbasli (born 1962) is a Turkish composer.

One of the most acknowledged 71 Turkish Composers, Akbasli is the son of businessman Samim Akbasli of Izmir. He spent his childhood and elementary school years in Yesilkoy, Istanbul until his family moved to Izmir. He attended Dokuz Eylul University’s Vocal Studies and Opera Division and studied with names like Sevda Aydan, Suat Taser, Kamran Ince and percussionist Oktay Aykoc while playing drums at various clubs in Istanbul and Izmir. He graduated from Vocal Studies in 1982 as the first chorister to the newly founded Izmir State Opera and Ballet. In 1985, he passed the orchestra exam and crossed over as a percussion artist. However, due to shortage of staff, he served at both the choir and the orchestra for a short period of time. Between 1986 and 1991, he went to the US and studied percussion instruments as well as theory, harmony, composition and improvisation at the Berklee School of Music in vibraphone virtuoso Gary Burton’s Percussion Department with Professor Ed Saindon and pianist - composer Aydin Esen.

He turned to composition in 1990. He succeeded at the position placement exam and made Assistant Principal Timpanist at the State Opera Orchestra. He composed an array of pieces from opera to musical for children, from modern dance music to chamber music. Upon the addition of his first opera, The Sacred Chest to the repertoire of The Ankara State Opera and Ballet, he moved to Ankara and continued his career as an orchestra artist. The chamber music piece he was commissioned to compose, Autumn in Ankara was performed in Germany in 1994. He was awarded the Aziz Nesin Grand Prize by the Cagdas Yasami Destekleme Dernegi for the music he composed for the Giordano Bruno play in 1996, when he was also awarded the Special Jury Award by the Eczacıbasi Contest Jury for his symphonic poem, Turkiye. In 1998, he was again awarded the third place for his symphonic poem Dixi et Salvavi Animam Meam at the Eczacibasi’s composition contest, whereas in 2000, he was the first prize winner of the same contest for his orchestra suite called Rebirth which also came out as a CD and performed in the opening ceremony of the International Music Festival of Ephesus. Between 2000 and 2001, he attended workshops and master classes in contemporary American and film music in New York where his modern dance music Jamaican Pond Sunsets was performed. He joined the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet in 2002. His Ballet of 2003, The Conquest was awarded the Special Jury Award at a National Composition Contest by the Ministry of Culture.

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