Biography
Mustafa Cagatay EROL
Mustafa Cagatay Erol was
born in 1992 in Samsun, Turkey. He started playing guitar in 1999 with
the pop guitar lessons received from Ahmet Sabri Karatas. Later, he
started to his classical guitar education with Kadir Ozal in 2002. From
2006 to 2010, he continued to his classical guitar education with Nihal
Calik Tuncer at Samsun Ilkadım Fine Arts High School and graduated as
first rank student. Between 2010 and 2017, he studied with Kagan Korad
and Anil Gelenler at Faculty of Music and Performing Arts in Bilkent
University at the undergraduate level and graduated with honor degree.
While his undergraduate education continues, he worked as guitar teacher
at Early Music Education Program in Bilkent University for four years.
Between 2017 and 2020, he studied with Fatih Akbulut at Fine Arts
Institute in Ondokuz Mayis University (OMU) as master degree student and
graduted with high honor degree.
During his education period,
Erol has studied actively with numerous musicans in the masterclasses
including Antonino Maddonni, Enno Voorhorst, Vincenzo Sandro Brancaccio,
Pavel Steidl, Aniello Desiderio, Nikita Koshkin, Roland Dyens, Costas
Cotsiolis, Ricardo Moyano, Ozan Saritepe, Serkan Yilmaz, Soner Egesel,
Bekir Kucukay, Ahmet Kanneci, Ozan Akyatan, Erdem Sokmen, Kursad Terci,
Husrev Isfendiyaroglu, Hande Cangokçe, Utku Ozkanoglu, Cem Kucumen,
Sanem Berkalp Egesel, Serkan Agir, and Barkin Sertkaya. He performed in
many organizations such as Turkey Classical Guitar Meetings, METU Classical Guitar Festival, Bilkent New Music Days, Sesin Yolculugu (The Journey of the Sound), and ICM Intercultural Music Conference and Concerts and
he colloborated with numerous conductors and composers such as Artyom
Kim, Augusto Arias, Onur Turkmen, Çaglayan Yildiz, Can Bekir Bilir, Aslı
Kobaner and Arda Yurdusev. Erol recorded Ceyhun Saklar’s solo guitar
composition ”Melancholic Prelude No. 1” for the album “Rendezvous with Guitar: Turkish Composers and Interpretators”, which was released in 2013 by CAGSAV Music.
In 2008, Erol won the “Honorable Mention Award in 14-17 Age Category” on 1st Pera Guitar Days Competiton In 2014 and 2016, he won the “Ulvi Yucelen Best Interpretation of a Turkish Composition Award”
in 2nd and 3rd National Guitar Competitions, both were organized by
Hacettepe University. Ceyhun Saklar dedicated his composition “Processes, Op. 76” to
Erol due to the record of the work “Melancholic Prelud No. 1” and award
winning at Hacettepe University in 2014 with the same piece. The piece
“Processes, Op. 76” was premiered by Erol at Samsun on 31st March 2022.
Erol
studies with Fatih Akbulut on the proficiency in art level at Institute
of Graduate Studies in OMU since 2020 and holds the Research Assistant
position at Department of Piano, Harp and Guitar in OMU State
Conservatory since 2019.