Önder Baloglu
the musical alchemist
Distilling the essence of music into every note.
Önder is one of the most versatile musicians of his generation. A violinist with a rare combination of precision, imagination, and depth, he moves seamlessly between roles as soloist, chamber musician, concertmaster, and ensemble leader. Like an alchemist of sound, he transforms musical ideas into immersive experiences—crafting programs, curating festivals, and bringing artists together in unique collaborations.
Driven by an unrelenting curiosity and a deep reverence for the soul of music, Önder performs wherever music calls—on grand stages, in intimate salons, across genres and borders. Every performance is an act of distillation: of style, of spirit, and of something essential that lies beyond the notes.
NEWS
Les essences in Tel Aviv!
Another exciting tour is coming up in April: with the core quartet of Les essences and a long time friend, Israeli harpist Lior Ouziel, Önder plays a debut concert at the „Focus on Harp“ series. An own arrangement of Mendelssohn‘s double concerto and „Conte Fantastique“ by André Caplet are on the program. This tour is generously supported by the Office of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia for Economy, Science, Education, Youth and Culture in Israel
NEWS
Les essences‘ Easter tour
Önder, who always emphasizes the importance of religious music for general understanding of music, tours with his Les essences and a very special program, Haydn’s masterpiece, The Seven Last Words, in an own arrangement for strings, through the easter weeks. First performance takes place at the 44. Duisburger Akzente, as a part of the exhibition „Museum of the Moon“ on March 29th. On Good Friday, April 7th at the Lighthouse Essen, Les essences performs the masterwork as a part of a Good Friday‘s service just like Haydn‘s intentions. The last concert of this tour is also the last part of a trilogy which Önder has been designing at the St. Barbara church in Moers in the last years: „Of Coming and Going“. In this trilogy, H.I.F.Biber‘s exceptional Rosary Sonatas are being combined by different masterworks, according to the subjects of the Rosary Sonatas.
NEWS
Önder jumps in for the „Baroque-Guru“
For two subscription concerts in the baroque series of the Folkwang Kammerorchester based in Essen, Önder will take over the role of the musical director. Normally led by Gottfried von der Goltz of the renowned Freiburger Barockorchester, Önder will direct a colorful program with some Concerti Grossi by Haendel and Muffat as well as some trumpet concertos with the legendary Matthias Höfs. By the way, many students from Önder‘s class have been members of this special chamber orchestra.
NEWS
Önder finalizes his workshop concert series
Always seeking the essences of music, Önder designed a mini series following the invitation of Geigenbau Bartsch for their new workshop. Performing a selection of his Unvoiced Diaries project and Bach’s ingenious Sei Solo the concerts became a discussion platform between Önder and his audience. The subjects were creation, perfection, imperfection, musical speech, historical and modern performance practice, pandemic, silence, isolation, social media and its impact on humanity.
NEWS
Önder’s debut at Herrenchiemsee Festspiele
Önder performs under the direction of Baroque Guru Reinhard Goebel
For years Önder has been regularly performing at the Herrenchiemsee Festspiele near Munich, as a member of the KlangVerwaltung Orchestra. On July 19, 2022, Önder makes his debut as a soloist, together with the renowned violinist and an old friend Rebekka Hartmann with Bach’s double concerto under the direction of Reinhard Goebel. Following this concert, Önder will act as the concertmaster of the KlangVerwaltung Orchestra in two more concerts with conductors Salvator Mas Conde and Kent Nagano.
NEWS
Another Play & Lead project
Bach's Christmas Oratorio with the renowned Chorwerk Ruhr
Önder will be leading Johann Sebastian Bach's ingenious Christmas Oratorio through the Christmas and New Year's celebrations of 2021/2022 during the services in different churches of Essen City. Chorwerk Ruhr and its soloists will be joining Önder and his Les essences for this project. Every Cantata will be performed on the day for which Bach had composed these masterworks. The project "With Christmas Oratorio through Essen" is made possible through the ensemble funding of the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
25.12.2021 11:00 Bergmannsdom Katernberg
26.12.2021 11:00 Thomaskirche Stoppenberg
27.12.2021 18:30 Alt-Katholische Friedenskirche
01.01.2022 11:00 Bergmannsdom Katernberg
02.01.2022 11:00 Thomaskirche Stoppenberg
06.01.2022 18:30 Evangelische Kirche Essen-Werden
NEWS
First album out!
Unvoiced Diaries on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music
Önder's special isolation project which is designed actually for social media platforms, including 24 Miniatures for violin by 24 Turkish composers living all around the world, is now available on online streaming platforms Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. The audio and video recordings took place in July 2020 at the Arter Museum in Istanbul. The ingenious video productions by Cem Önertürk were premiered on social media platforms.
NEWS
New appointment!
Önder joins the faculty of the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague
Starting from September 1st, Önder will be teaching at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. This new appointment will be based on orchestral studies, in addition to his main subject teaching at the Folkwang University of Arts and the concertmaster position at Duisburg Philharmonic.
NEWS
Unvoiced Diaries at NOW!
First live performance
Önder will be performing the 24 miniatures by 24 Turkish composers composed for Unvoiced Diaries, an isolation project which is designed actually for social media platforms, for the first time live at NOW! Festival in Essen. The festival is a collaboration between Philharmonie Essen, Folkwang University of Arts, Zollverein Foundation, North Rhine-Westphalia State Music Council and PACT Zollverein.
31.10.2020, 17:00, Neue Aula Folkwang University of Arts, Essen
NEW PROJECT
Unvoiced Diaries
a COVID-19 Project.
„Unvoiced Diaries“ is an isolation inspired project created by violinist Önder Baloglu and supported by Gedik Sanat Istanbul containing a minute long miniatures for solo violin by 24 Turkish composers living all around the world, designed for the compact contents of social media platforms.
The world premiere of Unvoiced Diaries took place hourly on July 19th, from 00:00 on, at the social media pages of Gedik Sanat (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube).
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