Stéphane ROY Celso AGUIAR Jonathan NORTON Fernando LOPEZ-LEZCANO Nicholas HOPKINS Nicky HIND Back to the Index

Cem DURUÖZ "A player of passion and intensity" raved John Holmquist - one of the many accolades Mr. Duruöz has received from performer and critic alike. Mr. Duruöz began studying guitar with Ahmet Kanneci at the age of eleven and won the first prize in the Turkish National Guitar Competition at the age of seventeen. He subsequently performed in every major concert hall in Turkey. Acknowledging his talent, the Italian and English governments awarded scholarships to enable him to participate in the masterclasses of John Duarte, Oscar Ghiglia, Eliot Fisk, and later Norbert Kraft and David Russell. In 1990, Mr. Duruöz emigrated to the United States and matriculated at Stanford University where he won the Stanford Soloist award. Since his United States debut, he has performed in Japan, New York, Washington DC, Florida, Georgia and major cities throughout California. In June 1996, he was invited to compete in the prestigious Naumburg competition held in New York City. His interest in all musical periods is exemplified by his guitar transcriptions of compositions from the Baroque period, as well as performance of works from every musical genre. An enthusiast of 20th century music, several composers have written pieces for him, including Tiffany Sevilla, H. H. Yoon, Jody Rockmaker, Robert Strizich and Bujor Hoinic. Mr. Duruöz received a Master's degree in Computer Music from Stanford University and in 1994, he completed another Master's degree in guitar performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied with David Tanenbaum.