Necati Celik / California Concerts

Born in 1955 in the province of Konya, home of the Mevlevi order, Necati Celik learned to play the baglama, a folkloric long-necked lute at age of 7. The early 1970's marked the beginning of his acquaintance with the oud, and in 1973, he participated in the Mevlevi rituals of Konya as an oud player for the first time ever. Here, he met some of Turkey's foremost oud masters, who contributed to the development of his command over this instrument.

Having experienced difficulty in obtaining quality instruction while learning how to play the oud, Mr. Celik decided to establish his own private school of music in 1975 in Konya, where he taught oud to hundreds of students.

In 1983, he founded the Konya Municipal Turkish Choir. Two years later he became an oud instructor in the Music Department in Konya's Seljuk University, where he remained for a year. In 1986, he became an oud artist in the Turkish Ministry of Culture's State Classical Music Ensemble, and at the same time, taught oud at the State Conservatory of Aegean University.

In 1987, he gave 8 concerts in Tunisia. 1989 was the year when Celik joined the Istanbul State Classical Turkish Music Ensemble. He also became the primary oud artist of the Necdet Yashar Ensemble, with whom he performed on a monthly basis in Istanbul and in many provinces of Turkey.

Celik is a frequent guest on Turkish national television and radio programs, and he has performed in universities of France, the Netherlands,Germany, Switzerland, Tunisia, Morocco, Malaysia, Canada, and the U.S.A. Acting on the invitation received in 1993, he journeyed to the U.S. for solo performances. Since then he has given oud lessons and recitals every year in California and New Mexico, and teaches and performs every August at the Middle East Music Camp held in Mendocino, California. In 1997, he was invited to participate in a workshop at the University of Israel in Jerusalem, where he taught oud and Turkish classical music. At the end of workshop, Mr. Celik gave two concerts with his students.

Necati Celik is married, has two children, and is currently an active member of the Ministry of Culture's State Classical Turkish Music Ensemble in Istanbul.

Concerts:

August 14, 1999 Saturday 8pm
Necati Celik (oud)
Vince Delgado (percussion)
Open Secret Bookstore, 923 C Street, San Rafael, California
For more information: Open Secret: 1-415-457-4191

September 3, 1999 Friday
Necati Celik (oud)
Halil Karaduman (kanun)
Clarion Music Center
816 Sacramento St. San Francisco, California
For more information: Clarion: 1-415-391-1317

September 4, 1999 Saturday
Benefit Concert for the Turkish Earthquake Relief Fund
Necati Celik (oud)
Halil Karaduman (kanun)
Guest musician: Cengiz Sadykov (piano)
Downstairs Hall of Nativity Church
240 Fell Street
San Francisco, California

September 10, 1999 Friday, 8pm, House Concert
Necati Celik (oud)
Halil Karaduman (kanun)
78 Oak Valley, San Mateo, California

September 11, 1999 Saturday
Benefit Concert for the Turkish Earthquake Relief Fund
Necati Celik (oud)
Halil Karaduman (kanun)
Habib Khan (sitar)
Pejman Hadadi (tombak, daf)
St. John's Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Avenue Berkeley, California

For more information on these concerts: 1-800-969-9455