Our Jury Members

Murat Cem Orhan is a Turkish conductor and composer known for his international collaborations, visionary artistic leadership, and commitment to cultural development.

Orhan began his education at Dokuz Eylül University State Conservatory in the Opera Singing Department and later completed a master's degree in Opera at Istanbul University. He pursued postgraduate studies in Composition and Opera at New York Brooklyn College of Music and earned a master's degree in Orchestral Conducting at Mimar Sinan University under the mentorship of Antonio Pirolli. Additionally, he completed a second master's degree at Hacettepe University State Conservatory, writing a thesis on R. Leoncavallo’s opera *I Pagliacci* under the supervision of Prof. Rengim Gökmen.

Gülden Gökşen began her piano education at the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory (now known as Istanbul University State Conservatory) under Nejla Tiner and continued her studies at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University State Conservatory in the class of Prof. Hülya Tarcan. Advancing three grade levels, Gökşen completed her education by graduating from high school at the age of 15 and from the conservatory and university as the top student in 1993 at the age of 18.

The same year, Gökşen was accepted into the Cologne Musikhochschule in Germany and studied with Prof. Helmut Weinrebe and Prof. Pavel Gililov on a full scholarship from the Turkish Education Foundation (TEV) 4/4 program.

Georgian pianist Irakli Chumburidze was born in Tbilisi in 1985. From 1992 to 2003, he studied at the Tbilisi Z. Paliashvili Music School in Georgia under Professors Manana Baratashvili and Lali Rcheulishvili. Chumburidze first performed on stage at the age of five and, at seven, performed with an orchestra, playing Handel’s Piano and Chamber Orchestra Concerto.

In 2003, he completed his studies at the Tbilisi V. Sarajishvili State Conservatory in the class of Prof. Revaz Tavadze and graduated in 2007. That same year, he continued his education at the prestigious Royal College of Music in London under the guidance of renowned pianist Prof. Dmitri Alexeev, with a full scholarship.

Salome Modebadze completed her studies at the Tbilisi Z. Paliashvili Central Music School with high honors in the class of Nino Katamadze. During this time, she participated in numerous competitions both in Georgia and abroad.

In 2020, she completed her bachelor’s degree at the V. Sarajishvili Conservatory and finished her master’s degree in 2023. An active participant in many projects of the conservatory, she successfully performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the student orchestra under the baton of Revaz Javakhishvili on December 5, 2018.

She was born in Ukraine in 1983. At the age of six, she passed the talent exams and earned the right to study at the Vinogradiv State Art School. In 1998, she began her studies at the Uzhgorod State Art High School. Later, she graduated from the Kiev State Conservatory.

She served as the Head of the Piano and Theory Departments at various music schools. Since 2012, she has been living in Turkey. Over the past 10 years, she has trained award-winning students who have achieved top rankings in numerous national and international competitions.

Founder of SunArt Academy Art Center, School Director & Founder and Competition Director of SunArt Istanbul International Piano Competition and Festival.

Evelina Yücel, born in 1981 in Kyrgyzstan to a musical family, began her music education at a young age. Her talent in piano was recognized early on, leading her to embark on a professional music career.