Steinway Artist Meral Guneyman

Meral Guneyman made her orchestral debut in the United States under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas as first prize winner of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s Young Artist’s Competition. She was promptly
reengaged by Tilson Thomas to perform with the Pittsburgh
Symphony Orchestra. Her Carnegie Hall debut was as winner of
the East&West International Competition. She was the top prize winner of the William Kapell International Competition at the University of Maryland where she performed with the Baltimore Symphony. Her other prizes and honors include first prize at the Juilliard Concerto Competition, and as a Finalist Laureate at the Naumburg International Competition, she was once again brought to the stage of the Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall. Her appearances have taken her to the Cervantes and Monterrey festivals in Mexico, the International Istanbul Festival, (both classical and Jazz) the American Music Festival at the National Gallery in Washington D.C, to the Ljubliana International Festival in Slovenia and to Antalya International Festival in Turkey. As soloist, she has performed with the Juilliard Symphony, the Istanbul State Symphony, the Presidential Symphony and the Borusan Philharmonic in Turkey, the Portland Symphony, the Brussels Philharmonic and ‘I Musici Brucellencis’ Orchestras in Belgium, and the Melbourne Players at the University of Melbourne in Australia. As recitalist, she has performed in England, Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Serbia, (including a concert for the Royal Family of Serbia), Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Turkey. Guneyman is a two time winner of the Judelson Award and the Laura Conover Pedagogy Award in New York. In her role as academic pedagogue, she has given lectures and Master Classes at New York University, at Harvard and Princeton Universities, at Purchase, Marshall, M.I.T and Georgetown Universities, at Rice University, Bosphorus University of Istanbul.

Meral Guneyman’s biggest influences and mentors in
composition, transcription and improvisation have been Vincent
Persichetti, Bill Evans and Dick Hyman. She concentrates on
composing songs and short works for mixed media and has
transcribed numerous original works. Her ability to move
instantaneously and convincingly between the classical and jazz
genres, her arrangements, transcriptions and multimedia
compositions is a rarity. She is dedicated to the advancement of
Contemporary music and has premiered works by such diverse
composers as jazz legends Dick Hyman, Pablo Ziegler, Fred
Hersch, and works by her Contemporary, award winning Justin
Dello Joio, namely; the Piano Sonata, “Due per Due’ for Cello and Piano, and a Chamber work, which she premiered with the
Juilliard Dance Ensemble and Juilliard Chamber Orchestra at
Lincoln Center. Her recordings, regardless of the genre, have
been received with universal acclaim. Her first recording of Frank Bridge and Anton Webern works, was heralded as among the five best albums of the year, and was singled out in the “Art of Piano” by David Dubal. Her album, “Playful Virtuosity” with jazz legend Dick Hyman has been a Grammy contender, and “Danzas Tropicales”, again with Dick Hyman, has been selected as iTunes’ “Editor’s Choice for New&Noteworthy” for 8 consecutive weeks. In her capacity as performer and educator, throughout her life, Meral has worked to raise funds for many charity organizations,among them: Save the Children, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, UNA-NY, USA-HERO, combating HIV, Aids pandemics, Americans for Cures, the Animal Alliance of NJ.