Toygar Işıklı

Toygar Işıklı — Biography

Born on 16 April 1974 in Gölcük, Toygar Işıklı developed an early interest in music through his father, an orchestra soloist, and sang in children's choirs at primary school; he went on to study voice at Marmara University, earned a master's degree in composition at Istanbul Technical University's MIAM center, pursued doctoral studies in musicology at the same university, and studied film scoring at Berklee College of Music.

He began composing for television in 2004 and scored his first film, Türev, in 2005, and has since written more than a thousand works, putting his name to some of the most talked-about series in Turkish television history, including Yaprak Dökümü, Aşk-ı Memnu, Ezel, Fatmagül'ün Suçu Ne? and Kara Sevda. Covers of his Kara Sevda theme by other performers have racked up millions of views online, and he has released the solo albums Sonunda (2010) and Hayat Gibi (2013), featuring his own lyrics, compositions and vocals. He was a voting member for the 69th Annual Grammy Awards.

Işıklı owns Arven Müzik, a film production and music publishing company, and his piece Gölcük'te Sessizliğin Sesi, written in memory of the Gölcük earthquake, climbed international listening charts; concert programs built around his compositions continue to be performed by orchestras from Kazakhstan to Gebze, and he has continued scoring recent productions such as El Turco.