Born in 1997 in Bursa, Türkiye, Kerem Tunçer studied violin and composition until 2015. By the age of 18, Tunçer had already performed in more than 20 cities across his country while appearing as a soloist with leading national orchestras such as the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, Presidential Symphony Orchestra, Bursa Regional State Symphony Orchestra, and Eskişehir Municipality Symphony Orchestra.
He was awarded First Prize at the 2014 Arthur Grumiaux Violin Competition in Belgium. Between 2013 and 2015, he served as the concertmaster of the Bilkent Youth Symphony Orchestra and Ankara Youth Symphony Orchestra. Having graduated from the Bilkent Music and Performing Arts Primary and High Schools with top honours, he also received the ‘Outstanding Achievement in His Field’ award in his graduation ceremony. The same year, he was personally selected by Daniel Barenboim to join the newly founded Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin, becoming one of its very first students. He graduated in 2019 with the highest honours, becoming the academy’s first Turkish graduate. Following his graduation, he studied Artist Diploma in Composition in Barenboim Said Akademie.
Tunçer has been an important member of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and the Boulez Ensemble, performing regularly under Daniel Barenboim and in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, Paris Philharmonie, Royal Albert Hall, La Scala, the Elbphilharmonie, BOZAR Brussels, Walt Disney Hall, Lincoln Center, Pierre Boulez Saal, Smetana Hall, Waldbühne Berlin, and at major festivals including the BBC Proms, Salzburg Festival, Lucerne Festival, Rheingau Festival, Bremen Festival and Schleswig Holstein Festival. Within these ensembles, he has shared the stage with world-renowned musicians including Lang Lang, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Martha Argerich, Yo-Yo Ma, Lisa Batiashvili, Francoix-Xavier Roth, Antonio Pappano, Matthias Pintscher, Lahav Shani, Clara Jumi Kang, and Zubin Mehta.
Tunçer’s conducting journey began in a masterclass with Rengim Gökmen and the Karşıyaka Chamber Orchestra, followed by his studies in Orchestral Conducting at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover, under Prof. Eiji Oue. He has assisted maestros İbrahim Yazıcı in Istanbul Opera, Cem Mansur for Türkiye Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, and Howard Griffiths in Deutsches Symphony Orchestra Berlin. In his conducting career, Tunçer has conducted many ensembles including the Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt-Oder, Brandenburger Symphoniker, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Nürnberger Philarmoniker, Berliner Sinfonietta, Antalya State Symphony Orchestra, Bursa Regional State Symphony Orchestra, Eskişehir Municipality Symphony Orchestra, and more.
In 2024, he began collaborating closely with Türkiye’s leading new music collective, Hezarfen Ensemble, including many performances in Istanbul and a concert tour in Sweden. Tunçer had attended many masterclasses with renowned conductors such as Johannes Schlaefli, Steven Sloane, and Michael Schonwandt. In 2025, Tunçer was accepted into the world-renowned Panula Academy in Finland, where he worked with legendary conductor Jorma Panula in a series of intensive masterclasses.
In 2026, Tunçer will attend masterclasses with Tomas Hanus and Nicolas Pasquet, and will conduct important orchestras such as Deutsches Symphony Orchestra Berlin, Bochumer Symphoniker, and Theater Magdeburg. Tunçer currently continues his Master’s studies with Prof. Harry Curtis in Orchestral Conducting at the University of the Arts Berlin (UdK), with the support of CEV Arts Foundation.