Fırat Akarcalı - Portfolio

Work Experience

2015 - Present

Composer

Since 2015, he has composed original music for over 60 productions at the Turkish State Theatres. His stage music for The Cherry Orchard was nominated for Best Stage Music at the 24th Yapı Kredi Afife Theatre Awards.

In 2022, Periferi (Ankara State Theatre) was awarded Best Production of the Year by the Direklerarası Theatre Awards. In parallel with his theatrical practice, he has released six studio albums since 2019, achieving international playlist placements on Apple Music and Spotify and exceeding two million streams.

His orchestral and chamber music arrangements have been performed by state symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles both nationally and internationally. He began composing documentary music for national television productions at the age of 14.

2014 - 2023

Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory
Collaborative Piano Instructor
Bilkent University Faculty of Music and Performing Arts
Early Music Education Program & Music Preparatory School
Piano Instructor

2023 - 2025

Florida Atlantic University Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Commercial Music Department
Graduate Teaching Assistant

Education

2008 - 2018

Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory | Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Piano Performance

GPA: 3.81 / 4.00
Focus areas: Classical Piano Performance, Harmony, Counterpoint, Music Theory, Classical Music Studies

Master Thesis=Examination of the Effects of Warm-up All Muscles Used During Piano Playing on Instant Piano Performance.
Ankara, 2018.

2023 - 2025

Florida Atlantic University | Master's Degree in Commercial Music

GPA: 3.97 / 4.00
Focus areas: Film Scoring, Music Production, Advertising Music, Orchestration, Composition, Music Theory, Sound Engineering

Awards & Honors

2011 — Anadolu Theatre Award (Theatre of the Year), Moscow–Petushki: The End of the Line, Theatre Critics Association (TEB)
2022 — Best Production of the Year, Periferi, Direklerarası Theatre Awards
2023 — Best Stage Music Nomination, The Cherry Orchard, Yapı Kredi Afife Theatre Awards
2023 — Best Production of the Year, The Cherry Orchard, Yapı Kredi Afife Theatre Awards
2023 — Full Scholarship, Tuition Waiver & Graduate Teaching Assistantship, Florida Atlantic University
2023 — Dean’s Special Fellowship, Florida Atlantic University
2024 — Miscellaneous Award, Florida Atlantic University
2025 — Michael & Jane Zager Commercial Music Scholarship
2025 — Commercial Music Faculty Leadership Award, Evercore
2025 — Best Global Music Artist (Semi-Finalist), Unsigned Only Music Awards
2025 — Latin Grammy Award Nomination, “Milonguín” — Giovanni Parra Quinteto
(Assistant Recording Engineer)