Mert Yalniz
Conductor Mert Yalniz has been selected by Esa-Pekka Salonen to join the San Francisco Symphony conducting staff in the 2024–25 season as an extension of his work as a Salonen Fellow in the Colburn School Conservatory of Music’s Negaunee Conducting Program.
Turkish-German conductor, pianist, and composer Mert Yalniz was born in Braunschweig in 2003 and initially studied piano and composition at the University of Music in Hanover. From October 2022 he studied with Igor Levit. Yalniz has regularly attended the Panula Academy in Finland and worked with several orchestras on various repertoire.
