Meet Yigit Karatas: This Year’s Recipient of Ahmet Ertegun Memorial Scholarship!

Yigit Karatas
Yigit Karatas

Violinist Yigit Karatas has been the winner of several prestigious violin competitions. He has been selected as the rising new talent award by MIMF in Turkey. He has performed in Europe, Asia and the United States extensively. He continues his career as giving solo and chamber music concert around the world.

He won the First Prize at the International Suna Kan Violin Competition in May 2017 in Ankara, Turkey. His recent big success was winning the top prize at the Waldo Mayo International Violin Competition in New York, Manhattan in June 2017. Karatas has made his solo debut at Carnegie Hall-Stern Auditorium, where he performed J. Brahms Violin Concerto with the Senior Concert Orchestra of New York under the baton of David Gilbert on October 9th.

He was awarded with the First Prize of the 4th National Gulden Turali Violin Competition. He also won 2nd prize at the International Marsyas violin competition in 2012. Karatas won his 3rd prize at the VIVO international music competition in New York in 2015.

He was born in Mersin in 1994. In 2008, he passed the entrance examinations of the Istanbul University State Conservatory and started his high school education. He studied violin in the same school with Veniamin Varshavsky. He is a master’s student of Frank Huang, concertmaster of New York Philharmonic, at The Juilliard School.

Established by The American Turkish Society in 2007 in memory of Ahmet Ertegun, founder of Atlantic Records and long-time chairman of The Society, the Ahmet Ertegun Memorial Scholarship supports talented musicians of Turkish descent in their studies at The Juilliard School in New York City. The scholarship continues Mr. Ertegun’s legacy of promoting talented artists while contributing to greater cultural understanding between the United States and Turkey.