Yiğit Kolat

Yiğit Kolat's music explores the liminal frontiers of musical activity and the poetics of sonic processes that unfold within extremely short timeframes, guided by his research on Music Information Retrieval systems and on musical semiotics. His diverse output includes acoustic, electro-acoustic, and electronic works written for orchestra, chamber ensembles, voice, and solo instruments.
Kolat has won a prestigious array of international awards, including the Toru Takemitsu Composition Award (1st Prize, 2015), the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium (Finalist, 2013), and the Concours International de Composition Henri Dutilleux (2nd Prize, 2012). His works have been judged and received by the pantheon of composers from the previous generations, including Henri Dutilleux, Kaija Saariaho, Magnus Lindberg, Toshio Hosokawa and Michael Jarrell and described as “deeply original [with] quiet, confident intensity” (K. Saariaho).
His music has been featured throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia by leading ensembles and soloists, among them the Tokyo Philharmonic (Japan), Solistes de L’Orchestre de Tours and Pascal Gallois (France), The Nieuw Ensemble, The Black Pencil Ensemble, and the Duo Mares (The Netherlands), Talea Ensemble and the Argento New Music Project (New York), the Athelas Ensemble (Denmark), the Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Turkey, Peter Sheppard-Skaerved and Aaron Shorr (Great Britain). His music has been broadcast by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) and Turkish Radio Television (TRT).
Kolat earned his DMA at the University of Washington, studying with Joël-François Durand. He currently resides in Seattle.