Percussionist
Aykut Köselerli is a percussionist who brings together the discipline of classical percussion and the usul tradition of Turkish music, its system of rhythmic cycles, on the same stage.
A graduate of the Percussion Department of Bilkent University’s Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, he has performed traditional instruments such as the kudüm, bendir and darbuka in Fazıl Say’s orchestral works for more than twenty years.
He was the soloist in the world premieres of Say’s Violin Concerto 1001 Nights in the Harem, op. 25 (Lucerne, 2008), the İstanbul Symphony, op. 28 (Dortmund, 2010), the ney concerto Hezarfen, op. 39 (Mannheim, 2012) and Symphony No. 3 Universe, op. 43 (Salzburg, 2012). In November 2024 he played kudüm in Lucerne in the world premiere of Mozart & Mevlana, written as a response to Mozart’s Requiem.
He has shared the stage with orchestras such as the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, New Japan Philharmonic and Luzerner Sinfonieorchester. He appears as soloist on Say’s recording of 1001 Nights in the Harem (Naïve) and on the İstanbul Symphony recording with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gürer Aykal, which received an ECHO Klassik Special Jury Award.
Köselerli continues to perform as a percussionist with the Ankara State Opera and Ballet, and also serves as General Coordinator at the General Directorate of the Turkish State Opera and Ballet.
