Asst. Prof. Dr. Rahmi Oruc Guvenc is a sufi master, a music therapist, an
ethnomusicologist, a composer and a poet.
He studied philosophy at the Faculty of Literature, Istanbul University. At the Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul he completed his doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology, focusing traditional music therapy. Oruc Guvenc founded the ‘Centre for Research and Application of Turkish Music’ at Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine. Later, he was appointed lecturer at the ‘Unit for the Research and Promotion of Turkish Music’ at the Turkic Research Institute of Marmara University.
Together with Higher Music Academy of Munich University he conducted a music therapy project applying Turkish Music. This pilot study was initiated in collaboration with Marmara University. He established a music therapy school in Rosenau, near VIenna, Austria .
Earlier, in 1975, Oruc Guvenc had founded TUMATA (Group for the Research and Promotion of Turkish Music) and began researching the origins and healing properties of Central Asian music. At the same time, he started training students founding music therapy schools in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Spain. Today, these schools are continuing their training and education.
Dr. Guvenc has published a monography on music therapy and another on Rumî entitled “The Beloved of Allah – Hz. Mevlâna” published in English and Turkish. In the field of classical Turkish music and Sufi music he has written lyrics and authored many compositions. He has created a tonality called Tarz-i Vefa and has composed a saz semai and a pesrev in this tonality.
Oruc Guvenc is a father to two daughters, Suyumbike and Kanikey. He is married with Azize Andrea Guvenc, an ergotherapist, musician and his closest collaboratress. Mrs. Guvenc has published two books in German covering Oruc’s work comprehensively: Hey Reisender! (Ey Yolcu!, Hey Traveller!) and Heilende Musik (Healing music). A Turkish translation of ‘Ey Yolcu’ is underway.