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Biography
Ahmet Sonmezler is the "First Turkish Cypriot" ever to earn a Degree from the prestigious Peabody Conservatory of Music who was shown as ''the international classical guitar virtuoso of the future'' by the Cyprus Newspaper in October 2005. Mr.Sonmezler is also the first graduate from the Eastern Mediterranean University to receive acceptance into the Doctoral program of Musical Arts. Mr.Sonmezler is from Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, who was born in 1984. He became acquainted with the classical music at the age of five and began to play classical guitar professionally at the age of seventeen. Mr.Sonmezler has participated at the Kammermusik Festival and Summer Academy in Stift Rein, Austria, at the Cortona Contemporary Music Festival in Camucia/Cortona, Italy, at the soundSCAPE Festival in Maccagno, Italy, at the 2nd Tucson Spanish and Flamenco Festival in Tucson, AZ, USA and at the 1st and 2nd Tucson International Guitar Festivals in Tucson, AZ, USA. Mr.Sonmezler was commissioned from the Full-Bright Commission U.S.A to constitute a ''Cyprus Violin and Guitar Duo'' with the Cypriot violinist Paris Hadjipanayi where they have given concerts throughout the Cyprus, most notably in the capital Lefkosa and Limasol. Mr.Ahmet Sonmezler was one of the organizers of the First International Tucson Guitar Festival held at the University of Arizona School of Music in November 2009.
Mr.Sonmezler has given the world premiers of the compositions of such composers including Mark Zanter "Character Pieces for Guitar", Luca Vanneschi "Quattro Piccolli Pezzi Blu", and David S. Lefkowitz "(Sur-)Real (Cine-) Music I: The Chase Through Escher's Metamorphosen." Famous American composer John A.Carollo composed a solo classical guitar piece for Ahmet Sonmezler called Fantasia and semi-Passacaglia for guitar. Mr.Sonmezler has performed to such renowned Classical Guitar artists and Teachers including; Armin Egger, Massimo delle Cese, Philipe Villa, Mauricio Carrasco, Rafael Aguirre, Lukasz Kuropaczewski, David Tanenbaum, Paul Galbraith, Eduardo Fernandez, Sergio Assad, Odair Assad, David Russell and Manuel Barrueco. Mr.Sonmezler is the recepient of worthy scholarships and awards including, the Eastern Mediterranean University success scholarships granted throughout the Bachelor's degree program, Diploma for the successful chamber music and solo performances at the Kammermusik Festival, full scholarship at the Kammermusik Festival, a plaquette and a certificate in the result of achieving the highest CGPA in the class of 2005 at EMU Department of Music, Peabody Merit-Based scholarship, success scholarship and Doctorate scholarship from the Ministry of Education and Culture in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Booher Memorial Scholarship, Graduate Teaching Assistanship from the University of Arizona School of Music and Steve Vai Guitar Techniques Specialist Certificate from the Berklee College of Music.
Ahmet Sonmezler has earned his Bachelor of Music Degree from the Eastern Mediterranean University in Guitar performance in the first place with High-Honors and a Master of Music Degree in Guitar performance from the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University. Currently, he is a member of the Mu Phi Epsilon Fraternity, Phi Gamma Chapter, Peabody Conservatory, Tucson Guitar Society and Tucson Guitar Society's Guitar Orchestra. Mr.Ahmet Sonmezler is performing and recording on the 2009 Zbigniew Gnatek concert classical guitar and 2006 model Jeroen Hilhorst Concert classical guitar. Currently, while he is finishing up his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Guitar performance at the University of Arizona School of Music with 4.00 CGPA, Mr. Sonmezler is teaching as an expert guitar instructor at Hisar Okullari in Gokturk, Turkey.