BURAK ONUR ERDEM
Burak Onur Erdem (b. 1986, Istanbul) is Artistic Director of the Turkish State Choir and Vice-President of the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM).
He was educated at the Deutsche Schule Istanbul and graduated from Boğaziçi University in Political Science and International Relations with high honours and the Rector's Prize. He holds a master's degree in music theory and a doctorate in conducting from the Centre for Advanced Studies in Music (MIAM) at Istanbul Technical University, and completed postgraduate studies in choral conducting with Prof. Johannes Prinz at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. In international masterclasses he has worked with María Guinand, Frieder Bernius, Georg Grün, Volker Hempfling, Michael Gohl, Dénes Szabó and Anders Eby, among others.
As Artistic Director of the Turkish State Choir he has built a new choral programme, conducted numerous world premieres, prepared the choir's major symphonic works, and established education and outreach projects alongside Sing-Along concerts that bring amateur choirs and audiences together to sing. In his term, the choir was admitted to TENSO, the European network of professional chamber choirs.
He is the founder of Rezonans, a professional vocal ensemble based in Istanbul whose repertoire is centred on contemporary and Turkish choral music. The ensemble has won prizes at international competitions in Cork, Arezzo, Varna and Marktoberdorf, sung in festivals in Hungary, Estonia, and Georgia, and was named Choir of the Year in Türkiye in 2017.
He is also the founder of the Choral Culture Association, a platform for choirs in Türkiye. The association has hosted international conferences, founded the Turkish National Youth Choir, established an annual Choral Marathon series, and started training programmes for young conductors.
He founded the choral conducting master's programme at Bilkent University, where he teaches, and co-founded the Walter Strauss Choral Conducting Masterclass in Ankara. He led concerts and masterclasses in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Hungary, Estonia, Bulgaria and Greece.
He was the first Turkish musician elected to the board of the European Choral Association, where he served as Vice-President until 2024. He chaired the Music Commission of the Leading Voices Festival and has worked on the music commissions of the Europa Cantat festivals. He has been a jury member for choral competitions and festivals in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Germany and Italy, and for the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing. He was Festival Director of the World Symposium on Choral Music 2023 in Istanbul.