Student Spotlight: Ya mur Soydemir The Berklee graduate student discusses her greatest inspirations, her love of ultimate frisbee, and the process of reworking a traditional Turkish folk song for a humanitarian relief project.
By
Editorial Staff
December 18, 2023
Ya mur Soydemir
Image courtesy of the artist
What's it like to study at Berklee? Our Student Spotlight series asks current students all about their Berklee experience-what they're learning in class, what kinds of projects they're involved in onstage or behind the scenes, how they recharge, and of course, what they're listening to. This week, meet Ya mur Soydemir, a flutist from Ankara, T rkiye (historically anglicized as Turkey). Ya mur earned her bachelors degree in performance and contemporary writing and production (CWP) at Berklee, and is now a student in the Berklee Global Jazz Institutes Master of Music in global jazz program.
Follow Ya mur on Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Tell us about your path to Berklee. What made you decide to come here?A heartfelt thank you, dear Berklee Now, for interviewing me; it is an honor. Let us commence!
I began my music education and flute studies at the age of 11 at Hacettepe Conservatory in my hometown Ankara, T rkiye. In addition to my classical music studies, I developed a deep interest in pop, jazz, and other genres of music. During middle school, I was already arranging well-known pop and jazz tunes for an ensemble of eight flutes, which we then performed with our flute class in concerts held throughout T rkiye.
After completing high school, I pursued a bachelors degree in classical flute performance at the Nice Conservatory in France. Throughout my studies, I participated in several solo flute and chamber music competitions in France and Europe, winning first and second place awards. At the same time, I began accompanying various jazz bands on European tours. Subsequently, during my masters degree studies at Lugano Conservatory in Switzerland, I founded and led my own jazz ensemble.
Motivated by a growing passion for jazz and a strong desire for further exploration, I applied to Berklee College of Music. After the evaluation process and receiving a full-tuition scholarship, I relocated to Boston, which marked a transformative moment in my career. Notably, I also received the Jazz Talent of the Year Scholarship from the Jazz Society of T rkiye during the same year.
At Berklee, I pursued a double major in contemporary writing and production and jazz performance. And this year, I am very grateful for being accepted to the Berklee Global Jazz Institute's one-year master's degree program with a full-tuition scholarship. Currently, my artistic pursuits include composing original music, arranging for both small and large ensembles, and providing flute instruction in both in-person and remote settings. I am currently exploring collaborations and looking to establish my own band.
Whats been your favorite class so far, and what has it taught you?Choosing only one class from Berklee is impossible for me! However, I can list some of my favorite and most impactful courses! I highly recommend future students to take a look at these incredible professors:
Performance Pedagogy with Marco Pignataro; Effortless Mastery with Kenny Werner; Directed Study with Danilo P rez, John Patitucci, and Ben Street; Original Fusion Ensemble with Tiger Okoshi; Intensive Introduction to Film Scoring with Sheldon Mirowitz; DAW Writing and Mixing Concepts with Danny McIntyre; the Berklee Indian Ensemble; Music Business with Eirini Tornesaki; and Small Jazz Band with Ed Tomassi.
Whats a project youve worked on since coming to Berklee?The most recent project I realized at Berklee took place this year, in February 2023. Following the serious earthquakes in T rkiye, we organized a project with the aim of collecting donations from global citizens for the earthquake victims, which was titled Earthquake Relief Project for T rkiye. We coproduced the project with Kemal Oksal, a professor in the Contemporary Writing and Production Department at Berklee. We took a traditional Turkish folk song and arranged and orchestrated it for orchestra, choir, vocal soloists, and ethnic instruments. Later on, we recorded this arrangement with 72 volunteer Berklee musicians from 30 different countries at the Shames [Family Scoring Stage] studio at Berklee, and we released it in collaboration with Berklee Productions. We hope that this project has led to an increase in donations and has made a positive impact on earthquake victims. You may watch the video here:
How do you typically recharge or find new ideas outside of class?When seeking new ideas for my artistic creations, I find great benefit in examining artworks created in the past. By analyzing the elements that motivate me in those works, focusing on why I appreciate them, I come to know myself better and generate new ideas to pursue. Amidst the constraints of classes, projects, concerts, and responsibilities, like many Berklee students, I have limited time (almost none). However, among my favorite activities in general, I enjoy watching intelligent movies, spending time with my close friends, and exploring the city. However, my most beloved hobby, which Ive been engaged in for almost a decade, is playing ultimate frisbee competitively in teams across T rkiye, Europe, and the USA. To those who havent heard of this intense sport yet, I strongly recommend watching a video of the sport immediately!
When you think towards your own future, who inspires you the most?Not just one person, but individuals who are dedicated to their work or life purpose, work diligently, put in effort, dont give up on their dreams, persist, and believe in themselves-when I see such individuals, it truly becomes a huge source of inspiration to me. I instantly find the ener
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
08/09/2026
Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) has announced a multi-year agreement with A E...
08/09/2026
Spectra Logic today announced the availability of Media Insight, a new capabilit...
08/09/2026
Rogers Communications and Quebecor have announced a 12-year sublicensing agreement for French-language national NHL games beginning with the 2026-27 season. TVA...
08/09/2026
Skyline Communications and Bridge Technologies will demonstrate two integrations...
08/09/2026
Boland Communications will make the European debut of its 4K55HDR7SNB 55-inch super-narrow-bezel monitor at IBC2026 (Stand 12.C57, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-1...
08/09/2026
Ateme and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) have announced a collaboration comb...
08/09/2026
Haivision has joined the IBC Accelerator Media Innovation Programme as part of t...
08/09/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced price reductions on its PYXIS 6K and Cinema Camera 6K models, effective immediately through Blackmagic Design resellers worldwid...
08/09/2026
AI-Media will demonstrate its LEXI Suite at IBC2026 (Booth 5.C34, September 11-1...
08/09/2026
Bitmovin and Ad Insertion Platform (AIP) have announced the first live deploymen...
08/09/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate story-centric media workflows at IBC2026 (Booth 9.A01, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), connecting newsroom production, content ma...
08/09/2026
M2A Media and Ateme have announced a partnership integrating Ateme's video processing solutions into M2A Media's MediaToAnywhere platform for live sport...
08/09/2026
Ikegami will exhibit at IBC2026 (Stand 12.A31, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), including a Day 1 introduction of new cameras in the UNICAM XE series. Additiona...
08/09/2026
Broadcast industry analysts will be gathering plenty of insights at the 2026 IBC Show this weekend in Amsterdam, but Caretta Research has offered up some though...
08/09/2026
SENSHI and DAZN have announced a global broadcast partnership that will bring SENSHI's live events free to viewers in more than 200 markets. The partnership...
08/09/2026
New architecture built with Evertz will bring 4K HDR to Monday Night Football, N...
08/09/2026
Built for rap producers, by rap producers
Sauceware Audio, the independent plug-in company founded by Grammy-nominated producer Jacob (Travis Scott, 21 Sava...
08/09/2026
Classic Sound Techniques design revived
Warm Audio's latest release delivers a meticulous recreation of the preamp circuitry employed by the Sound Techn...
08/09/2026
Latest soft synth inspired by the Memorymoog
XILS Lab have just launched a software instrument that draws its inspiration from Moog's iconic Memorymoog,...
08/09/2026
The Airport Chaplain takes off as SBS's biggest launch of 2026
8 September, 2026
Media releases
1.67 million viewers on National Total TV to date
Best...
08/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/09/2026
Mo-Sys, the world-leading developer of virtual production, camera robotics and image tracking technology, has completed a business restructuring, which has incl...
08/09/2026
New York, September 8, 2026 The TSAmediaHUB audiovisual contribution and distribution infrastructure developed by Telef nica's Audiovisual Services area re...
08/09/2026
Expanded Riyadh operation brings Asharq and Thmanyah services together on a resilient on-premises Pebble platform.
Pebble, the leading automation, content mana...
08/09/2026
Techex, a pioneering leader in live video workflows, will showcase its broadest software feature set to date at IBC 2026 (Stand 2.B45), extending its lead in so...
08/09/2026
Visitors to Grass Valley's booth at IBC2026 will be introduced to new Framelight X capabilities that connect content acquisition, management, editing and pu...
08/09/2026
BCNEXXT will showcase the latest evolution of Vipe at IBC2026 (Stand 2.B09), introducing a series of innovations designed to deliver higher-quality audience exp...
08/09/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Ad Insertion Platform (AIP), a leading innovator in advanced ad insertion technologies, to...
08/09/2026
Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics and augmented and virtual production, is announcing a major package of enhancements to its Suite 7 soft...
08/09/2026
Big Blue Marble is supporting TDF, French infrastructure and network operator, broadcasting Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and radio services, as a techno...
08/09/2026
Agents work inside a single production environment, from incoming wire copy to a live studio show...
08/09/2026
Building on their strategic partnership, Ceeblue and Layercake make the unthinkable possible: scalable sub-second streaming over standard DRM, SSAI, and CDN wor...
08/09/2026
Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics, augmented and virtual production, is completing the environment for fast-paced broadcast production wi...
08/09/2026
A SaaS portfolio built to work together, helping operators grow audiences, monetise smarter and run leaner, on their own terms
At IBC 2026 (stand 1.B49) Synam...
08/09/2026
Accedo, global provider of video streaming software and services, has been selected by PlayOn Sports, a national leader in high school sports technology, to exp...
08/09/2026
LiveU, the leader in live IP-video solutions, is enabling The Associated Press to take global newsgathering to the next stage with intelligent connectivity and ...
08/09/2026
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced the latest evolution of it...
08/09/2026
Compact, power-efficient X Platform performance brings broadcast-grade reliability and ultra-low latency to space-constrained remote production (REMI) workflows...
08/09/2026
Zixi, the leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Kiloview, a leading provider of professional IP video encoding and decoding solutions, t...
08/09/2026
Collaboration gives content owners scalable CDN capacity and broadcasters enhanced flexibility, including for C-band transition planning
Quortex today announce...
08/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/09/2026
Telos Alliance and Pluxbox Announce Dynamic Media Facility Integration Partnersh...
08/09/2026
J nger Audio Showcases Industry-First S-ADM Cloud Workflow at IBC 2026
Search
Dolby, MainConcept, Techex and J nger Audio will showcase the industry's ...
08/09/2026
Tuesday 8 September 2026
Sky Go gets a major upgrade for Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers
Today, Sky launches a new version of the Sky Go app for Sky Glass ...
08/09/2026
Documentary thriller simulating a Russian attack on UK soil will culminate in a live final episode reuniting the playersTuesday 8 September 2026
Trailer releas...
08/09/2026
Tuesday 8 September 2026
Jamie Demetriou and Amelia Dimoldenberg to host next t...
08/09/2026
Wuppertal September 8, 2026
Riedel Introduces New OnAir Headset PlatformRiedel Communications today announced the launch of its new OnAir headset platform, a...
Student Spotlight: Ya mur Soydemir The Berklee graduate student discusses her greatest inspirations, her love of ultimate frisbee, and the process of reworking a traditional Turkish folk song for a humanitarian relief project.
