Yonca Karakilic
Joining Primo Artists as Artist Manager in December 2022, Yonca Karakilic brings more than 15 years of experience in artistic planning, audience engagement and management in symphony, chamber music, festival and academic settings.
From 2010 to 2013, she served as Manager of Artistic Planning at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. In addition to her artistic administration responsibilities, Karakilic led distinct programmatic initiatives such as the “Composer of the Year” program, where she worked with composers Joan Tower, Steven Stucky, Mason Bates, as well as thematic festivals centered around classical subscription programs.
Most recently, Karakilic served as Director of Arts Transcending Borders at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester MA. Working with academic partners, she established and led this new initiative – a multidisciplinary series and related programming with emphasis on contemporary and global expressions in music, dance, theater and interdisciplinary practice. As Director of the program, she produced 50-70 annual public events, curricular and community engagement activities, championing deep engagement between audiences and artists including the Silkroad Ensemble, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, jazz master and composer Terence Blanchard and violinist Johnny Gandelsman, among others. Through residencies, she supported the development of new works by composer Osvaldo Golijov, visual artist Kevork Mourad, and actor, writer and director Roger Guenveur Smith.
Karakilic has previously held leadership, audience engagement and education roles with the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society, Istanbul International Music Festival, and taught arts management courses at the Istanbul Technical University’s Center for Advanced Studies in Music. She has served on the boards of the New England Presenters and the Worcester Cultural Coalition.
She holds an M.A. in Arts Management from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz School for Public Policy and Management in Pittsburgh and a B.A in English from Bogazici University in Istanbul. Trained as a cellist, she holds a Certificate in Cello Performance from Istanbul University State Conservatory Preparatory School and has performed with Istanbul Baroque. Karakilic is currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area where she lives with her husband and daughter.