After his education of conducting which he started with Gurer Aykal and ended with master degree in Stockholm, Can Okan has been conducting the orchestras in Turkey since 2013. Okan, who gives concerts regularly with Presidential Symphony Orchestra, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra and Izmir State Symphony Orchestra, has wide range of repertoire from Bach to the contemporary music. He conducted Turkish premieres of the several orchestral works. He conducted Stravinsky’s opera, The Rake’s Progress at Istanbul State Opera and Ballet in 2017 which was the first performance of the work in Turkey. Since that year he conducted several operas at Ankara State Opera & Ballet and Istanbul State Opera & Ballet. He gives concerts with world famous composer and pianist Fazıl Say in Turkey and abroad. He conducted the world premieres of Say’s 6th Symphony and 100th Anniversary March. He conducted the world premiere of Michael Ellison’s Binboğalar Efsanesi, inspired by Yaşar Kemal at IKSV Istanbul Music Festival. He continues to conduct a wide range of repertoire consists from baroque to the contemporary period.
Curriculum Vitae
He was born on 25 March 1986 in Istanbul. He began his piano studies with Meliha Doğuduyal in 1994. In 1997, he studied piano as a student of Prof. Metin Ülkü. From 2005 to 2009, he studied conducting from Prof. Güner Aykal in 2005. In 2007, he conducted the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra and performed his first concert as conductor.
He was an active participant in master classes organised by famous pianists such as Idil Biret, Dmitri Alexeev, Emanuel Axe, Arnulf von Arnim, Nikolai Demidenko, Aydin Esen, Claudius Tanski. Okan completed his master's studies in piano major art with Prof. Metin Country in 2009 and his master's degree in Conducting at Stockholm Royal College of Music in 2011. During this training, he worked with conductors such as Daniel Harding, Jan Risberg, B. Tommy Andersson, and performed in Sweden with many symphony orchestras, conducting works from opera, symphonic and contemporary music. In 2011, he joined Jorma Panula's conducting masterclass in Finland. He studied piano from Alessandra Torchiani at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome to pursue his PhD studies from 2016 to 2017.
Since 2013, Bursa District has conducted Cemal Reşit Rey Symphony, Presidential Symphony, Çukurova, Istanbul and İzmir State Symphony Orchestras. In his first studio recording, he recorded all of Franz Schubert's Impromptus. Igor Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress," performed by Istanbul State Opera and Ballet in 2017, made its Turkish debut in June of that year in Benjamin Britten's "The Turn of the Screw" (Cycle of Evil) he directed his opera and Verdi's "Falstaff" in April 2018, "Die Zauberflöte" (Magic Flute) and "Rigoletto" as part of the "Oper im Berg" festival in Salzburg. He performed as a soloist with the Antalya and Çukurova State Symphony Orchestras. He performed with world-renowned soloists such as Idil Biret, Augustin Dumay, Ayla Erduran, Alexander Rudin, Fazıl Say.
In 2019, Can Okan completed his doctorate in piano major art with Prof. Metin Ülü. In October of that year, he directed "Aida," a new production of the Ankara State Opera and Ballet. He served as deputy conductor of the Presidential Symphony Orchestra from 2020 to 2021. Okan began studying philosophy at the Department of Philosophy at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University for the third time in 2020. Okan is eligible for the title of Associate Professor in 2021. In 2023, the founding of the Republic of Turkey is 100. Fazıl Say composed the 100th anniversary. The anthem of the year; As part of the IKSV Music Festival, he directed the premier of Michael Ellison's ‘Bozlak’ opera "The Legend of the Binboga.”
Currently, he continues his career as both a pianist and conductor in Turkiye and in abroad, and also attends conferences and interviews on music and philosophy as well.
THE LIST OF OPERA AND ORCHESTRAL WORKS REPERTOIRE
Haydn: Paris and London Symphonies
Mozart: Die Zauberflöte/Symphonies 25, 29, 35-41, Requiem, Concertos
Beethoven: Complete Symphonies, Overtures and Concertos
Schubert: Symphonies 5, 8, 9
Schumann: Symphonies 3, 4, Genoveva Overture
Mendelssohn: Symphonies 3, 4, 5, Overtures
Berlioz: Symphonies fantastique
Liszt: Les Preludes, Dante Symphony
Wagner: Overtures and Preludes
Dvořák: Symphonies 5-9, Overtures, Slavonic Dances
Brahms: Symphonies 1-4, Overtures, Haydn Variations, Concertos, Ein deutsches Requiem
Tchaikovsky: Symphonies 2-6, Symphonic Poems, Ballet Suites, Violin Concerto, Piano Concerto No. 1
Verdi: Rigoletto, Aida, Falstaff
Bruckner: Symphonies 4, 5, 7, 8, 9
Mahler: Symphonies 1, 2, 4, 6, 9
Richard Strauss: Die Bürger als Edelmann, Metamorphosen, Tone Poems
Debussy: Prelude a l’apres midi d’un Faune, La mer
Ravel: Bolero, La valse, Pavane pour une infante defunte, Rhapsodie espagnole, Ma mere l’oye
Rachmaninoff: The Isle of the Dead, Symphony No. 3
Stravinsky: The Firedbird, Petrouchka, The Rite of Spring, Pulcinella Suite, The Rake’s Progress
Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Viola Concerto
Prokofiev: Symphonies 1 & 7, Ballet Suites
Shostakovich: Symphonies 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15
Britten: The Turn of the Screw
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5
Say: Symphonies 1, 6, Flute Concerto, Sahmeran, Water: Piano Concerto