Our Story

Featuring Necati Emirzade and Mark Anderson, Duo Tandem is an instrumental guitar duo with an emphasis on story-telling through music. Hailed as “trad[ing] musical ideas back and forth so effortlessly” by Classical Guitar Magazine and described as “pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on classical guitars,” by Minor7th, Duo Tandem has captivated audiences with performances throughout the United States and Europe. Their 2018 album, Watching the World Go By, was chosen as a top-10 album of 2018 by the editor of Classical Guitar Magazine, Blair Jackson.

 

Emirzade and Anderson formed Duo Tandem in 2012 while studying at the prestigious San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Their shared artistic vision blends their distinct, individual cultural backgrounds into a unique, combined musical voice. Collaborating with composers and writing for themselves, Duo Tandem has compiled a far-reaching set of new music based on old and new world stories and imagery that has been described by Classical Guitar Magazine as “a magical blend that is no longer any one style, but instead a new and exciting polyglot.”

 

Duo Tandem’s many concert engagements include the Elmhurst College World Music Series and a performance at the historic Bellapais Abbey in Cyprus for an audience that included the President of North Cyprus, Mustafa Akıncı.

 

Duo Tandem released its first album "Sans Paroles", in 2015, and in 2018 they followed it up with "Watching the World Go By". In 2020, Duo Tandem released the album "Guitar Duos of Kemal Belevi" on the Naxos label.