Benyamin Sönmez

Benyamin Sönmez ( born January 16, 1983 in Bremen, † 30 November 2011 in Istanbul) was a Turkish cellist. He was the winner of the Adam International Cello Festival in New Zealand in 2006 under the chairmanship of Mistislaw Ropstropovich.

Life

Sönmez, born in 1983 in Bremen, moved at the age of three years with his family in Turkey over. He began his cello training when he was 14 years old. At the age of 17 he began studies at the State Conservatory in Ankara and studied with Natalia Gutman at the Academy of Music in Stuttgart and also at the Moscow Conservatory.

Sönmez lived in Istanbul and died on 30 November 2011 at the age of only 28 years after a heart attack.

Awards

• 2006: winner of the Adam International Cello Festival in New Zealand