Emre Kartari is an Adjunct Instructor of Jazz at VCU, JMU and Longwood University, where he teaches Small Jazz Ensemble, Jazz History, and Drum-set.

Born into a family of musicians and artists in Ankara, Turkey, Emre moved to the United States when he was nine years old. Soon after, he began to study drums, which led to studying jazz percussion with T. Howard Curtis and receiving his Bachelor’s degree from VCU. He holds an M.A. in jazz performance and composition from New York University and received the Barney Josephson Award in 2003.

While in New York, Emre studied with Adam Nussbaum, John Riley, Tony Moreno, Billy Hart, and Jamey Haddad.

He has performed and recorded with David Liebman, Darius Jones, Trevor Dunn, Paul Pieper, John D’earth, Howard Curtis, Mike Richmond, Justin Kauflin, Chris Brydge, Paul Langosch, Chris Whiteman, Royce Cambell, and Houston Person, among others.

As an educator, Kartari worked with the New York Pops Mentors in Music program from 2003 until 2005. In 2009, with the support of the American Embassy in Turkey, he formed Ankara State Conservatory’s jazz degree program. In 2011 he became the Director of Jazz Studies at Yasar University in Izmir, Turkey, directing the VCU Izmir International Jazz Camp in 2012 and 2013. He formed the group “Sazli-Cazli,” featuring VCU alumni Taylor Barnett and Kevin Simpson, to perform along with Turkish musicians for state-sponsored tours in Turkey in 2015 and 2016.

Emre has completed his Doctoral Studies from Yasar University, in Izmir Turkey, in 2019.