Emre Sihan Kaleli

“My tales, like those of the Thousand and One Nights, are intended not to persuade readers, but to entertain and touch them.”

— Jorge Luis Borges, foreword to Brodie’s Report

Emre Sihan Kaleli is a Vienna-based composer whose artistic trajectory spans Turkey, Uzbekistan, the Netherlands and Austria. Having established himself across different cultural and institutional environments, he has developed a distinctive compositional voice shaped not by a single tradition or school, but by a sustained engagement with diverse musical worlds.

His works, ranging from chamber music and music theatre to multimedia projects, are dynamic and expressive, unfolding through rich narrative structures and an immersive musical flow. Rather than seeking to persuade, his music aims to captivate audiences through its sense of storytelling, dramatic pacing and sonic imagination.

Kaleli’s works have been performed by leading ensembles such as Klangforum Wien, Ensemble PHACE, Cantando Admont, The Black Page Orchestra, Schallfeld Ensemble, Riot Ensemble and Nieuw Ensemble, among others.

He has received several distinctions, including the Promotion Prize of the City of Vienna in the Field of Music (Förderungspreis der Stadt Wien in der Sparte Musik, 2022), first prize at the impuls Composition Competition (2019) and the Gargonza Arts Award (2015). He lives and works in Vienna, his adopted home.