Press Kit

Aytuğ Ülgen, recipient of the Uğur Mumcu Art Award as "Conductor of the Year," is known for his interpretive approach to a broad repertoire spanning from the Baroque era to contemporary music — one that foregrounds musical meaning and dramatic expression.

As a conductor, composer, and musicologist, he has performed concerts on four continents and, alongside his academic work, has composed numerous award-winning stage works and film scores. He currently serves as conductor at Mersin State Opera and Ballet.

Aytuğ Ülgen is a Turkish conductor, composer, and musicologist who was awarded the 2015 Uğur Mumcu Art Award as "Conductor of the Year." Recognized for the rhetorical interpretations he brings to a broad repertoire spanning from the Baroque era to contemporary music, Ülgen has presented concerts, lectures, masterclasses, and recording projects in Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Estonia, Poland, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Argentina, and Northern Cyprus, and has composed numerous award-winning stage works and film scores.

Having completed his musical education in Opera and Symphony Conducting at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory under Professors Leonid Nikolaev and Vladimir Ponkin, Ülgen founded the I.B.M. Symphony Orchestra and I.B.M. Chamber Opera in Russia, and has worked with numerous international ensembles, most notably the Mosfilm Film Music Orchestras and the Stanislavski Theatre.

Currently serving as conductor at Mersin State Opera and Ballet, Aytuğ Ülgen works regularly, both in Türkiye and abroad, with the six opera houses and State Symphony Orchestras of the Turkish State Opera and Ballet, as well as with private orchestras and institutions, through his opera and symphonic repertoire; he is recognized for the stage works and film scores he has created and contributed to as a composer, his work as an educator, and his multifaceted contributions to cultural life.