Turkish musician Egemen Kesikli (pronounced Eh-gheh-men Kheh-sɪ́k-lih) strives to promote diversity and decolonize the canon in music theory, musicology, and music performance. He received his doctorate in music composition from the University of Colorado Boulder and master's from the University of Texas at Austin. He currently serves as Instructor of Music Theory & Musicology at Colorado State University and as Director of CU Boulder SoundWorks.

Egemen's composition catalogue varies from large ensemble works and concertos to chamber works featuring traditional instruments from West Asia. Egemen has been commissioned to write for the Houston Grand Opera, the Duluth Symphony Orchestra, Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, the Playground Ensemble, tap dancer Max Pollak and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, and collegiate bands and orchestras including the St. Olaf Band and the Hope Jazz Collective. Egemen's music has been heard at festivals and conferences including Forum Wallis (Switzerland), Dimitria Festival (Greece), Izmir International Music Festival (Turkey), Composers Concordance (NYC), and the National Flute Association and American Choral Directors Association conventions. His music has been honored with awards and recognition from ASCAP, Beethoven Club Memphis, Eczacibasi Foundation, and Minnesota Music Educators Association, and has been featured on PBS North as well as CPR Classical's contemporary music podcast, "Centennial Sounds."

Along with composing, Egemen performs actively as conductor and multi-instrumentalist, performing his own compositions and premiering new works by fellow contemporary composers such as JP Merz, Jim Simmons, Jesse Manno, and Conor Abbott Brown. He is one of the founding members of False Cognates, a maximalist queer pop project, and he is the lead vocalist of Turkish Massage Owl, a folk-pop ensemble from Colorado, performing a diverse catalogue of music inspired by the music of West Asia and Balkans.

When he is not composing, performing, or teaching, Egemen enjoys cooking and collaborating on various arts projects with his family. He has three cats: MaoMao, Ada, and Albertine.