He attended Dokuz Eylül University's Vocal Studies and Opera Division and studied with distinguished names such as Sevda Aydan, Suat Taser, Kamran Ince and percussionist Oktay Aykoc while playing drums at various clubs in Istanbul and İzmir.
He succeeded at the position placement exam and made Assistant Principal Timpanist at the State Opera Orchestra.
In 1998, he was again awarded the third place for his symphonic poem Dixi et Salvavi Animam Meam at the Eczacibasi's composition contest, whereas in 2000, he was the first prize winner of the same contest for his orchestra suite called Rebirth which also came out as a CD and performed in the opening ceremony of the International Music Festival of Ephesus.
In his work, Tevfik Akbasli opted for being comprehensible without lowering artistic and aesthetic levels and epitomized a lively, straightforward expression that embodies the indisputable reign of melody.
Thanks to his three decades of performance history, he has observed that all masterpieces that are known to be classics this day are those that easily captivate the listener without being tiresome no matter how structurally complicated they are and that consist of small but perfect pieces that can be mumbled effortlessly.