Melih Kibar (6 September 1951 – 7 April 2005) was a Turkish

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

Biography

Born in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, he graduated from the

German High School Istanbul Deutsche Schule Istanbul ( en, German School of Istanbul, shortened as DSI), with formal Turkish name Özel Alman Lisesi ( en, Private German High School) or İstanbul Alman Lisesi ( en, German High School of Istanbul) or simply Alman Lisesi ( en, ...

and studied

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

Boğaziçi University Boğaziçi University ( tr, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi), also known as Bosphorus University, is a major research university in Istanbul, Turkey. Its main campus is located on the European side of the Bosphorus, Bosphorus strait. It has six facult ...

. He received a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from the

University College of Wales, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

. At the age of eight, Kibar enrolled at the Conservatory of Istanbul Municipality.Biography on Kibar's official website
(in Turkish, last accessed September 3, 2007). He started his musical career in the school years and won a first prize as composer at the

Milliyet ''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a Turkish daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. History and profile ''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 ...

High School Music Contest in 1970. Until 1975 he worked with

Timur Selçuk Timur Selçuk (2 July 1946 – 6 November 2020) was a Turkish composer, pianist, singer and conductor. Biography One of the greatest Turkish composers, Timur Selçuk was the son of Turkish neo-classical music composer Münir Nurettin Selçuk ...

. One of his earliest compositions was ''

Çoban Yıldızı ''Çoban Yıldızı'' is an instrumental Turkish melody composed by Melih Kibar in 1975. In 1975, TRT, the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation ordered a jingle for the coming Eurovision Song contest national finals. (see Turkey in the Euro ...

'', a jingle for Eurovision Song Contest national selection. Since 1975, he composed 273 tunes, 9 musicals and 32 film musicals in cooperation with various artists, in particular with lyricist

Çiğdem Talu Çiğdem Talu (October 31, 1939 – May 28, 1983) was a Turkish pop music lyricist. The writer Ercüment Ekrem Talu was her grandfather. Çiğdem wrote her first song "''Ağlıyorum Yine''", which was sung by Nilüfer and released on her sin ...

. In 1976, he received the

Golden Orange The Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival ( tr, Antalya Altın Portakal Film Festivali), known for a few years from 2015 as Antalya International Film Festival, is a film festival, held annually since 1963 in Antalya, and is the second most impor ...

prize for the soundtrack of the film "''

Hababam Sınıfı ''Hababam Sınıfı'' (The Chaos Class) is a 1975 Turkish comedy film, directed by Ertem Eğilmez based on a novel by Rıfat Ilgaz, featuring an ensemble cast including Kemal Sunal, Tarık Akan and Münir Özkul that tells the adventures of a pri ...

''". Melih Kibar participated in various international festivals and was winner of many prizes in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and abroad. At the

Eurovision Song Contest 1986 The Eurovision Song Contest 1986 was the 31st edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Bergen, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song "La det swinge" by Bobbysocks! Organised by the European Broadcastin ...

held in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, his song "''Halley''" and at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1995 The Eurovision Song Contest 1995 was the 40th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 13 May 1995 at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (RTÉ) and presented by ...

held in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, his another song "''Sev!''" represented Turkey. Melih Kibar died of

skin cancer Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. There are three main types of skin cancers: basal-cell skin cancer (BCC) ...

on 7 April 2005 at a hospital in Istanbul. He was taken there two days before his death. He was laid to rest at Nakkaştepe Cemetery following the religious funeral held at

Bebek Mosque Bebek Mosque ( tr, Bebek Camii), officially Hümayûn-u Âbad Mosque ( ota, Hümayûn-u Âbad Cami for: Prosperous Imperial Mosque) is a 1913-built mosque located in Bebek neighborhood of Beşiktaş district in Istanbul, Turkey. Bebek Mosque wa ...

. He is survived by his wife Ethel and his daughter Merve.

Discography

*''Yadigar'', 2001 *''Saat Sabahın Dokuzu'', 2003 *''

-Merhaba'', 2004

References

1951 births 2005 deaths Musicians from Istanbul Turkish composers Alumni of Aberystwyth University Best Music Score Golden Orange Award winners Deutsche Schule Istanbul alumni Boğaziçi University alumni Deaths from skin cancer Deaths from cancer in Turkey {{Turkey-composer-stub Eurovision Song Contest conductors