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The award was given to
honor his contributions to music over the course of his lifetime. Prof.
Doğramacı has always been a dedicated music enthusiast, and as early as
his student days at the Beirut American College, never missed a concert.
As founder of Bilkent University, he presided over the creation of the
Faculty of Music and Performing Arts here. In conjunction with this
faculty, he established the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, the first
private, academic orchestra in Turkey. It quickly became one of Turkey's
finest symphonic ensembles, and has recorded CDs for major labels, such
as EMI, Naxos and CPO.
In addition, Prof.
Doğramacı was personally involved in the process of designing and
building the FMPA Building and the Bilkent Concert Hall. He recruited
Finnish acoustic engineer Matti Heikkinen, and himself oversaw the
planning and construction of these buildings, which serve as examples of
excellence in acoustics and design. Prof. Doğramacı also contributed to
the founding of the first department of musicology in Turkey at Mimar
Sinan University.
Several composers have
written works in honor of Prof. Doğramacı. Such pieces include Ahmed
Adnan Saygun's Variations for Orchestra and Sonata; Arif Melikov's
Symphony No. 7; Emil Tabakov's Symphony No. 7; and, Muammer Sun's "Country
Colors."
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