Celil is one of the best guitarists of his generation, of Turkish descent but resident in the US, and he has won one of the best competitions in the world such as the Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) in 2012.
In 2017 he was awarded as the Best Revelation Artist at the Donizetti Classical Music Awards (Istanbul). He has recorded projects with prestigious labels such as Naxos.
Concerts
- Sitges – Ermita de St Sebastià (solo concert): Jul 7 TICKETS
- Sitges – Teatre Prado (Concierto de Aranjuez): Jul 9 TICKETS
- L’Estartit (solo concert): Jul 10 TICKETS
- Castelló d’Empúries (solo concert): Jul 11 TICKETS
Since his concert debut at the age of 6, Dr. Celil Refik Kaya has received high promised repetitions and accolades for his myriad accomplishments at an early age, being the youngest to win First Prize in the 2012 JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition with the Buffalo Philharmonic; prizewinner of international guitar competitions including Sofia Bulgaria, Naxos Greece, Vienna, Istanbul, and throughout the United States, highlighted awards winner at top competitions such as 2012 Guitar Foundation of America (GFA), Indiana International Guitar Competititon, Boston Guitar Competition, Texas International Guitar Competition, Schadt String Competition, and Philadelphia Guitar Competition. In 2017 he was awarded “Rising Young Musician of the Year” by the Donizetti Classical Music Awards in Istanbul.
Dr. Kaya’s first recording, Jorge Morel Guitar Music, has been critically acclaimed by American Record Guide as ‘the performances are just perfect—he doesn’t try to make the music more than it is, but he does realize the real heart in these pieces.” Kaya has also recorded the works by Carlo Domeniconi and Agustin Barrios Mangore for Naxos Records and has been invited for more projects in the future.
Dr. Kaya appears as a soloist and international artist touring around the United States and Turkey. As a concert soloist, he has collaborated with professional orchestras such as the Buffalo Philharmonic, Virginia Symphony, Presidential Symphony Orchestra in Turkey, Istanbul State Symphony, Hilton Head Symphony, Brevard Festival Orchestra, Lake Placid Sinfonietta, Bilkent Symphony and many others and has gained his great artistic recognition internationally. He has also conducted many masterclasses in music festivals and universities throughout the United States and Turkey.
Dr. Kaya has presented the premieres of concertos by Roberto Sierra (Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra), Derwyn Holder (New Jersey Baroque Orchestra), Leonard Handler, and Suleyman Alnitemiz (Istanbul State Symphony). As a performer Kaya works closely with our generation’s great composers including Lowell Liebermann, Jorge Morel, and Roberto Sierra, among many others.
Dr. Kaya performed in the most prestigious concert halls and festivals around the United States including solo recitals, concerto performances and masterclasses on the D’Addario Performance Series at Carnegie Hall, The Frick Collection Museum in NYC Summer Artists series, New York Guitar Seminar Festival at Mannes College, Round Top Festival in Texas, Brevard Music Festival, Raritan River Music Festival and Ankara International Music Festival, also numerous Radio broadcast and concert performances throughout United States and Turkey.