Movement Mandala Music by Evren Celimli

At 11 years old Evren attended the New England Conservatory of Music for theory, composition and piano lessons.

In high school Evren loved jazz and switched to a 5-string electric violin. Evren recounts that it was in high school that he "made the conscious decision to be a composer." He composed for his high school jazz band, the school chorus, and he wrote a chamber orchestra piece for Boston University's High School Composer's Workshop. As a senior, he received the Harvard Musical Association's Award for Achievement.

Evren received his Bachelor's degree in music from Brandeis University where he was introduced to a Buchla Modular Synthesizer and learned to splice analog tape. He got his first taste for collaboration by writing the score for the short film "Eugenia's Crown" which premiered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and played at the Louvre in Paris. He earned his Masters degree in Music Composition at the University Of Sussex in the U.K. and after graduation his compositions were performed at new music festivals both in the United States and Europe.

In 1996 Evren moved to New York City because he, "wanted to work with other artists, to collaborate on multi-disciplinary projects." When he got to NYC, says Evren, "I found myself in the scruffy under belly of the downtown avant-garde dance and theater world." He composed and designed sound for 15 productions over a 3-year period including 2 Richard Foreman plays, a wild production of Euripides' "The Trojan Women," and a dance/theatre piece that was performed at the Here Theater / American Living Room Festival. His first collaboration with choreographer Doug Elkins premiered at the Joyce Theater in NYC and traveled to Queen Elizabeth Hall in London and the Teatro Gustavo Modena in Italy. His "Movement Mandalas," an ongoing series of meditational dance pieces were performed at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C.

Along with composing for dance and theater Evren worked with a few commercial music houses including Machine Head, Sweet Potato Music and Hot House Music and Sound Design. His music was used for an award winning Ogilvy television commercial for TIAA Cref and by haute couture designer Morgane Le Fay. Evren also produced for several independent record labels and did remix work for Arista and Sony Germany.

In 2003 Evren completed his first ballet, "The New Rome," a commission from Guggenheim award winning choreographer Leigh Witchel. This year Evren was awarded a New England Foundation for the Arts / National Dance Project production grant with choreographer Ben Munisteri. Their new collaboration, "Thunderblood," will premiere at Jacob's Pillow in July 2005. Evren is also working on a commission from the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. He is composing a piece for the unveiling of a massive art installation at the Charlestown Navy Yard, also in July of 2005.

During 2006 and 2007 Evren has been hard at work on music for a few short films and on the score for the feature-length documentary "Beyond Belief", an official selection of the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. The soundtrack for "Beyond Belief" is available for purchase on CDBaby.

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