Turkish-American composer and performer Erberk Eryılmaz is recognized for bringing the energy of the traditional music of his homeland to the concert stage with a creative and dramatic approach. His recent album of chamber works, "Dances of the Yogurt Maker" won a Grammy Award with producer Judith Sherman and received two gold medals at Global Music Awards in 2022. His compositions have been performed at some of the world’s most important concert venues such as Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana, Cuba, and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Eryılmaz was selected to participate in the Moon Arts Project which sent his work, "Was her face the moon or sunlight?", to space in 2024. The work received its premiere at NASA, next to Saturn V, history’s largest rocket.
His compositions and performances have been featured multiple times on Turkish State Radio and American Public Media's Performance Today and have received praise by Fanfare Magazine, Andante, CNN Turk, Cumhuriyet, Hürriyet, Sanattan Yansımalar, as well as the Washington Post, which describes his music as a “dervish-like explosion.” He has been featured on records released by MSR Classics, Naxos, Albany Records, Innova Recordings, Wirripang, and Parma Recordings.
As a composer, pianist, conductor, and folk percussionist, he has collaborated with many important ensembles including the Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Turkey, Houston Symphony, European Union Chamber Orchestra, Turkish State Choir, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, Gedik Philharmonic, Fairfax Symphony, Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, Austin Camerata, Apollo Chamber Players, Klasik Keyifler, Carpe Diem, Tesla Del Sol, and Semplice String Quartets, Windsync, Anatolian Wind Quintet, ZOFO Duet, as well as the Bowen McCauley Dance Company.
Eryılmaz has received numerous awards including BNY Mellon Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement, Sallie Shepherd Perkins Prize for Best Achievement at Rice University, the Diemente Prize at the Hartt School and top prizes at the Van Rooy Competition for Musical Excellence, Silberman Chamber Music Competition, Carnegie Mellon University's Harry G. Archer Orchestra Composition Competition and String Quartet Composition Competition.
In 2015, Erberk Eryılmaz and his wife Laura Krentzman established Hoppa Project with aims to promote music from Eastern Europe and the Middle East by performing the music of the region with a wide range of styles from folk to newly commissioned contemporary music. Hoppa Project has collaborated with varied artists such as Ismail Lumanovski, Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol, Shawn Conley, Beth Bahia Cohen, Ayşe Göknur Şanal, Önder Özkoç, Yiğit Kolat, Özkan Manav, and Kamran İnce.
Eryılmaz is a composer/performer in Devingen, a dynamic transcultural band that draws inspiration from the rich musical traditions of Anatolia, as well as the cultures of the Balkans, the Middle East, and beyond. Devingen consists of Sinan Ayyıldız on electric saz; Erberk Eryılmaz on synthesizer and davul; Buğra Kutbay on kaval, zurna, balaban, and sipsi; and Ali Can Öztan on drum set. The band gave their debut performance in 2024 at the historic State Art and Sculpture Museum in Ankara.
Eryılmaz received his education at Samsun Municipality Conservatory, Ankara State Conservatory, the Hartt School (Bachelor of Music), Carnegie Mellon University (Master of Music and Artist Diploma), and Rice University (Doctor of Musical Arts). He is currently a faculty member at Ankara Music and Fine Arts University where he teaches composition and directs the new music ensemble (MGÜ Yeni Müzik Topluluğu).
For more information please visit erberkeryilmaz.com