Kamran Ince has been hailed by The Los Angeles Times as "that rare composer able to sound connected with modern music, end yet still seem exotic." Major orchestras and ensembles around the world have performed his work. Concerts devoted to his music recently took place at the Holland Festival, CBC Encounter Series (Toronto), the Istanbul International Festival, Estoril Festival (Lisbon), and TurkFest (London). Major performances in 2005 include six concerts in April throughout Holland and Belgium with Netherlands Blazers Ensemble (an entire program of his works from the past ten years arranged by him for the NBE) with Kurdish-Turkish singer Aynur; a concert at the Istanbul International Festival with Istanbul Modern Music Ensemble under his direction in a program of his works including the premiere of Requiem Without Words (commissioned by the festival in memory of the victims of the November 2003 Istanbul terrorist bombings); and the premiere of his Symphony No. 5 Galatasaray (commissioned by Muzikotek) for orchestra, choir and soloists in Istanbul in December to honor the 100th anniversary of Galatasaray sports club, which won futbol's (soccer's) World Super Cup in 2000.     His latest orchestral CD Kamran Ince (includes his 3rd and 4th Symphonies) with Ince conducting the Prague Symphony Orchestra was just released by Naxos (Naxos 8.557588). His CD In White was recently released on the Innova label (Innova 600), which includes Flight Box and In White ("On In White, Kamran Ince does with sound what Walt Disney did with light in Fantasia "-innova). Symphony No. 2 (Fall of Constantinople); Remembering Lycia, a piano concerto for Alan Feinberg; and Arches have been released on Decca's Argo label (Fall of Constantinople, Argo 455 151-2). Two CDs of his chamber music are available: Kamran Ince (Northeastern NR 254) and Kamran Ince & Friends (TROY/Albany 310). Recent releases also include Sheherazade Alive, performed by the Onder Piano Duo on EMI Classics (1001 Nights EMI 5576722) and Gates for solo piano, performed by Ruya Taner on the A.K. label (EMI Turkey). His film scores for Love Under Siege and Aphrodisiac were released on the Universal/RAKS label (Kamran Ince Music for Films, RAKS 9719514), and for Sarkici on Universal Turkey (9710013). Among his recent works are Istathenople (2003) for bozouki, mandolin, clarinet and new music ensemble commissioned by Present Music; Strange Stone (2003) commissioned by Relache of Philadelphia and the Commissioning USA Fund; Concerto for Orchestra, Turkish Instruments and Voices (2002), commissioned by Turkish Ministry of Culture; Symphony No. 4 ("Sardis") (2000), inspired by the ancient Anatolian civilization of Lydia and commissioned by U.C. Berkeley archeologist Crawford Greenewalt; Flight Box (1999) commissioned by Present Music for the opening of Santiago Calatrava's new building for the Milwaukee Art Museum; and FEST (1998) for orchestra and new music ensemble, written for the orchestras of Milwaukee, Dayton, Albany and Present Music (released on CD Brutal Reality, TROY/Albany 354). Upcoming major works to be written include an accapella Mass movement, commissioned by Chanticleer for their 2007 Mass project; a work for large ensemble, childrens and womens choir for Present Music's 25th anniversary; a work for Ensemble Modern commissioned by the 2006 SCI World Music Days; a solo violin partita for the famed Turkish violinist Cihat Askin; and an opera titled Judgement of Midas commissioned by Prof. Crawford Greenwalt for the 100th year of Sardis/Lydia excavation (sponsored by Harvard and Cornell Universities) for 2008. Ince was born in Montana in 1960 to American and Turkish parents. He holds a doctorate from Eastman School of Music and is Professor of Composition at the University of Memphis and co-director of MIAM (Center for Advanced Research in Music) at the Istanbul Technical University. His numerous prizes include the Prix de Rome, the Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Lili Boulanger Prize. His Waves of Talya (on the Northeastern disc) was named one of the best chamber works of the 20th Century by a living American (Turkish) composer in the June 2000 issue of Chamber Music Magazine. His music is published by Schott Music International.