Adjunct Instructor of Jazz Drum, Small Jazz Ensemble Adjunct Instructor of Jazz Drum, Small Jazz Ensemble
Dr. Emre Kartari is a musician and educator with over three decades of experience. He has performed and collaborated with artists such as David Liebman, Melissa Aldana, John Fedchock, Marshall Gilkes, Mike Richmond, Paul Pieper, John D’earth, Howard Curtis, Chris Whiteman, Paul Langosch, Eddie Williams, Justin Kauflin, Darius Jones, and John Toomey.
Born into a family of musicians and artists in Ankara, Turkey, Emre moved to the United States when he was nine years old. Soon after, he began to study drums, which led to studying jazz percussion at VCU with T. Howard Curtis, receiving his BM in Performance: Jazz Studies. He holds an M.A. in jazz performance and composition from New York University and received the Barney Josephson Award in 2003. Emre completed his Doctoral Studies from Yasar University, in Izmir Turkey, in 2019.
As an educator, Emre has worked with the New York Pops-Mentors in Music program and in 2009, he formed Turkey’s first college accredited, state-supported jazz program at the Ankara State Conservatory. In 2011, he became the director of jazz studies at Yasar University in Izmir, Turkey.
Emre has curated numerous music festivals, tours, and projects in collaboration with the American Embassy in Turkey and the Fulbright Association. He founded the Izmir International Jazz Camp, which featured faculty from VCU, JMU, and Graz Conservatory. Emre has served as a juror for the National Endowment for the Arts.
As an educator, he has taught drum set, jazz history, and jazz ensembles at James Madison University, College of William and Mary, Longwood University, and Old Dominion University. Emre is endorsed by Canopus drums and Istanbul Agop Cymbals.