Assoc. Prof. MERT KARABEY

He was born in Ankara, in 1976.  Encouraged by Professor İlhan Baran, he studied composition at Bilkent University (B.Mus., D.M.A.) with Bujor Hoinic and at the University of Sussex (M.A.) with Martin Butler. Between September 2000 and August 2011 he was an instructor at Bilkent University. Currently he is an associate professor and the head of the composition division at Ankara University State Conservatory.

His compositions include; 3 Piano Sonatas (1997,2000,2005), Sonatine for piano (2006), 3 songs (1997,2010,2017), “Rubaî” for clarinet, viola and violoncello (1998), Symphonic Movement for orchestra (1998), Suite for Viola and Violoncello (1999), “Souvenir de Sussex” for small orchestra (2000), Violin Concerto (2001-2003), “The Puppies in the Snow” for string orchestra (2003), “The Murderer on the Lane” for orchestra (2004), “Laumė” for viola and violoncello (2005), “The Last Days of Sultan Selim III” for wind octet, percussion and double-bass (2011), String Quartet (2011), String Trio (2014), Concertino for oboe and strings (2017), Wind Quintet (2021), various  piano solo and chamber music pieces.

In addition to Turkey, his music has been performed in Ukraine, Russia, Lithuania, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, France, Germany, Brazil, USA and UK, by distinguished musicians like Rengim Gökmen, Lars-Erik ter Jung, David Friedemann Strunck, Steinar Granmo Nilsen, Martin Butler, Povilas Syrrist-Gelgota, Dirk Boris Kestel, Hakan Ali Toker, Orhan Ahıskal, Aylin Yılmaz, Türev Berki, Cem Önertürk, Onur Özkaya, İris Şentürker; groups and orchestras like Oslo Kammerakademi, Telemark Chamber Orchestra, Duo Oktava, Duo Chordata and KODA.

 Suite for Viola and Violoncello, “The Puppies in the Snow” and “The Murderer on the Lane” were published by Pelican Music Publishing (Illinois, USA) in 2005. Suite for Viola and Violoncello was recorded by Duo Oktava in Norway (2007). Sonatine was recorded by pianist Özlem Ömür and published by Ankara University State Conservatory Publishing in 2012. In 2017 Sonatine was recorded by Croatian pianist Ivan Horvatić. In 2023, Oslo Kammerakademi recorded “The Last Days of Sultan Selim III”, in their album The Silk Road, released by Lawo Classics.

Mert Karabey is interested in playwriting as well. His plays, “The Rooms”, “The Sandy Shore” and “Raids and Dreams or Every Life is a Winter” were published by Mitos-Boyut (İstanbul).