Kamran Ince has been hailed by The Los Angeles Times as “that rare composer able to sound connected with modern music, end yet still seem exotic.” Major orchestras and ensembles around the world have performed his work. Concerts devoted to his music recently took place at the Holland Festival, CBC Encounter Series (Toronto), the Istanbul International Festival, Estoril Festival (Lisbon), and TurkFest (London).

Major performances in 2005 include ten concerts in April throughout Holland (an entire program of his music including the premiere of a new major work commissioned by NBE) with Netherlands Blazers Ensemble and Kurdish-Turkish singer Aynur, a concert at the Istanbul International Festival in June where he will conduct the Istanbul Modern Ensemble in a program of his works including the premiere of Requiem Without Words (commissioned by the festival), and the premiere of his Symphony No. 5 “Galatasaray” (commissioned by Muzikotek) in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir in September to honor the 100th anniversary of Galatasaray sports club.

His latest CD In White (recorded by prestigious Present Music Ensemble) was recently released on the Innova label (Innova 600) which includes Flight Box and In White (“On In White, Kamran Ince does with sound what Walt Disney did with light in Fantasia” — innova). His latest orchestral CD “Sardis” (includes his 3rd and 4th Symphonies) with Ince conducting the Prague Symphony Orchestra have been released by Naxos in March 2005. Symphony No. 2 (“Fall of Constantinople”); Remembering Lycia, a piano concerto for Alan Feinberg; and Arches have been released on Decca’s Argo label (Fall of Constantinople, Argo 455 151-2). Two CDs of his chamber music are available: Kamran Ince (Northeastern NR 254) and Kamran Ince & Friends (TROY
Albany 310). Recent releases also include Sheherazade Alive, performed by the Onder Piano Duo on EMI Classics (1001 Nights EMI 5576722) and Gates for solo piano, performed by Ruya Taner on the A.K. label (EMI Turkey). His film scores for Love Under Siege and Aphrodisiac were released on the Universal/RAKS label (Kamran Ince Music for Films, RAKS 9719514), and for Sarkici on Universal Turkey (9710013).

Among his recent works are Istathenople for bozouki, mandolin, clarinet and new music ensemble commissioned by Present Music (2003); Strange Stone commissioned by Relache of Philadelphia and the Commissioning USA Fund (2003); Concerto for Orchestra, Turkish Instruments and Voices (2002), commissioned by Turkish Ministry of Culture; Symphony No. 4 (“Sardis”) (2000), inspired by the ancient Anatolian civilization and commissioned by U.C. Berkeley archeologist Crawford Greenewalt; Flight Box commissioned by Present Music for the opening of Santiago Calatrava’s new building for the Milwaukee Art Museum; and FEST (1998) for orchestra and new music ensemble, written for the orchestras of Milwaukee, Dayton, Albany and Present Music (released on CD Brutal Reality, TROY
Albany 354).

Upcoming works to be written include a major work commissioned by Netherlands Blazers Ensemble for them, Turkish instruments and voice for 2005; his 5th Symphony for orchestra, choir and soloists commissioned by Muzikotek to be written for the 100th anniversary of Galatasaray (a Turkish soccer club which won the UEFA and Europe’s Super Cup in 2000) for 2005; an accapella Mass movement commissioned by Chanticleer for their 2007 Mass project; and an opera titled Judgement of Midas commissioned by Prof. Crawford Greenwalt for the 100th year of Sardis
Lydia excavation (sponsored by Harvard and Cornell Universities) for 2010.

Ince was born in Montana in 1960 to American and Turkish parents. He holds a doctorate from Eastman School of Music and is Professor of Composition at the University of Memphis and co-director of MIAM (Center for Advanced Research in Music) at the Istanbul Technical University. His numerous prizes include the Prix de Rome, the Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Lili Boulanger Prize. His Waves of Talya (on the Northeastern disc) was named one of the best chamber works of the 20th Century by a living American (Turkish) composer in the June 2000 issue of Chamber Music Magazine.