Biography
Efe Yüksel (1999) is a composer, electronic musician, and performer from Turkey/İzmir. He is currently on his final year of undergraduate in Guildhall School of Music, studying composition with Malcolm Singer and electronic music with Nye Parry. His works have been workshopped and performed by the likes of pianist Ben Smith, violinist Mira Benjamin, flutist Cem Önertürk, conductor Jack Sheen, the Ligeti Quartet, Line upon Line Percussion Trio, Guildhall Sessions Orchestra and Lakeside Brass Quintet in venues such as the Courtauld Gallery, Milton Court Concert Hall, St. Marylebone Parish Church (as part of St. Marylebone Festival) and the Barbican Centre. He has also participated in various projects, writing music for the Illuminated River Project, Song in the City, Barbican Silent Film Showings, and the Barbican Beethoven Weekender. He has had masterclasses with composers Julian Anderson, Mark Andre, Eivind Buene, Mahir Cetiz, Alasdair Nicolson, Michael Ellison, and Pieter Snapper. Upcoming projects include works for EXAUDI Vocal Ensemble and clarinettist Heather Roche. He is supported by the Guildhall School Trust and Talent Unlimited.
His instrumental work so far has mainly been concerned with exploring and pushing the limits and capabilities of instruments and voices via hands on experimentation and close collaboration with performers. This interest is also relevant to his research, writing a dissertation on Rebecca Saunders’ work, the structural organisation of noise and gesture and recently having given a seminar on inharmonic vocal multiphonics.
Alongside writing instrumental music, one of his biggest interests is programming algorithmic music/live electronic music and combining live electronic processing with instruments, mainly using the software MaxMsp, which has been the focus of a lot of his recent work. Aside from composing he is also active as a pianist, live electronics/live coding and melodica performer. The melodica holds a special place in his heart, and he has been trying to develop a repertoire for this unjustly neglected instrument by writing, commissioning, arranging, and performing new work.
