Necati Çelik and Halil Karaduman are premier performers of classical Turkish music, masters of their instruments and of the classical music literature of Turkey. Mr. Çelik [pronounced "chelik"] plays the oud, the ancient lute which exists in various forms throughout the Islamic world, and from which the European lute was derived. Mr. Karaduman plays kanun, a classical Turkish zither whose unique sound is enhanced by small parchment resonators under the bridge. Both musicians, furthermore, are accomplished vocalists Each of these musicians is a well-known master in his own right, and each has performed extensively in concerts, broadcasts and recordings.

Mr. Çelik and Mr. Karaduman will perform compositions selected from the vast repertoire of Turkish classical and devotional music. The secular music of the Ottoman courts was compiled not only by Turkish composers, but also by brilliant representatives of the Armenian, Greek, Jewish, Balkan and Arabic communities whose cultures were part of the Ottoman Empire in it greatest days—and by the sultans themselves. Sufi religious music, also an important part of Turkish classical music, includes movements from the sophisticated suites performed as part of the ceremonies of the Whirling Dervishes, as well as medleys of ancient devotional hymns, many of which are still popular today.

These two masters will also perform works from the classical and contemporary Turkish repertoire of art music, including some of their own compositions.

NECATI CELIK 

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.