Celal Eldeniz
- Additional Crew
Eldeniz works in three areas: Drama, Music and Psychology.
In his high school years he started his music profession as the tenor soloist of the Youth Choir of the Association of Mersin Polyphonic Choirs, took parts in theatre productions and lead a philosophy club, where numerous heated discussions took place. During his undergraduate studies at the Business Management Department of Marmara University in Istanbul, he took classes on the theory, history and performance of Turkish Traditional Music at one of Istanbul's oldest traditional music schools; the Uskudar Music Association. From 2000 - 2004 he continued his choral work, first as a tenor chorister, then as an alto chorister in one of Turkey's first western polyphonic music choirs; the Istanbul European Choir.
Simultaneously he took diction and public speaking lessons from the professor of Turkish Literature, Ulku Emil, and prepared and presented radio programs.
Later at Beloit College in Wisconsin he took courses on Theatre, Music and Psychology. He studied Method Acting under Rod Umlas and various theatre schools (Barba, Brecht, Artaud, Grotowski, Boal), as well as genres (forum theatre, invisible theatre, street performances, image theatre, psychodrama) under Amy Sarno. In addition, he took up lessons on the traditional western singing technique "Bel Canto" under Eudora Shepherd. He also performed on stage in theatre plays, dance performances and music concerts.
Having returned to Istanbul, he participated in musical theatre classes run by the renowned actor and director Haldun Dormen and acting classes by the renowned actress Ayla Algan. Later on, between 2007 and 2010, in the MA program of Music at the Athens Campus of Indianapolis University in Athens, Greece, Eldeniz deepened his knowledge of the Bel Canto Method by attending lessons by the renowned opera singer Spyros Sakkas. He participated in the workshops of Natassa Zouka on bodywork, breath-work, yoga and movement at Sakkas' Voice Studio in Athens.
Following his studies in Athens, he continued his musical academic work through the MA program at the Musicology Department of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University State Conservatoire. Eldeniz sang as a countertenor at recitals organized by the Istanbul Baroque International Music Festival at various historical venues in Istanbul. In 2015 he expanded his work in performing arts by immersing himself in stage directing and his production of Euripides' well-known tragedy Bacchae.
In 2015, as a script consultant for a feature film, he attended a six-month workshop in Greece, the MFI2 Script Development Workshop, where he mastered his understanding in dramaturgy and scriptwriting.
Along with his artistic career, Eldeniz continued trainings in Istanbul provided by training institutions accredited by two organizations in the psychotherapy field; the World Association of Positive Psychotherapy in Germany and the European Body Psychotherapy Association in Netherlands. He also completed courses on Neuro-psychoanalysis, Cognitive Sciences, Music Therapy and Hypnosis.
He gave lectures at several universities in Istanbul; the Musicology Department of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University State Conservatoire, the Music Department and the Department of Performing Arts of Bilgi University, the Psychology Department of Halic University and the Psychology Department of MEF University (Courses: Vocal Performance, Managing Self-Performance, Conflict Resolution, Psychology of Music). Today Eldeniz continues his academic teaching at Bahcesehir University where he lectures on Music Business & Turkish Music Industry and Twentieth Century Music.
He pursues his artistic career as a singer and director. He provides acting coaching sessions for actors of television series and movie projects and voice coaching sessions for singers and conducts group classes in acting and singing mainly at Crystal Academy Istanbul which he founded in 2009 and in other venues. Furthermore, he continues his readings on philosophy, through which he acquires concepts, that unify his ideas and activities in drama, music and psychology.