Cem Önertürk was born in Ankara, Turkey in 1986. He started his music education when he was twelve years old by taking classes from Ilhan Baran. In 1999, he succeeded in the entry examination of Bilkent School of Music and Performing Arts and was admitted to the flute class of Stiliana Stavreva. Onerturk actively participated in the master classes of Gulsen Tatu, Robert Winn, Partick Gallois, Maurice Steger and Emmanuel Pahud.

In February, 2005 he performed as a solo flutist with Bilkent Youth Symphony Orchestra in support of UNICEF. He was awarded the “Yamaha Scholarship” in the year 2006; and the “DAAD Scholarship” in 2007. Onerturk won the first price in the “Cahit Koparal Flute Competition” in September, 2007. He performed concerts in Shanghai and Beijing in China; and in Munich and Berlin in Germany with the orchestra that was established as a part of the “Young Euro Classic” summer festival in 2008. During the concert season in 2009-2010, he performed A. Khachaturian’s flute concerto as a solo flutist with the Antalya State Symphony Orchestra. He went to the Unites States and Canada and performed as a solo flutist “Castleton Festival Orchestra” that was conducted by Lorin Maazel in July, 2011.

Onerturk graduated from the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts of Bilkent University in June 2007 with the honor degree and accepted to the Master Classes program of “Hochschule fur Musik und Theater Hannover” and “Hochschule fur Musik und Theater Munchen”. He completed his master’s degree in September, 2011 in the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater München after studying with Prof. Andras Adorjan for over a two-year period than completed his DMA studies in June, 2013 in the Music and Performing Arts Institute of the Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey.

Cem is teaching flute in Bilkent University and Ankara University since 2013 and performing concerts with Hezarfen Ensemble, Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, Tekfen Philarmonie Orchestra, Hezarfen Ensemble, Anatolian Wind Quartet, Goodfellas Ensemble.