Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Student Spotlight: Yamur Soydemir

19/12/2023

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
LINK: https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/news/student-spotlight-yagmur-soyd...
See more stories from berklee

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

17/06/2026

EVS Achieves EcoVadis Gold Medal, Ranking in Top 5% of Companies Globally

EVS has announced it has received the EcoVadis Gold Medal for sustainability performance, ranking among the top 5% of companies globally in the Technology/Mid-S...

17/06/2026

Chyron Releases Weather 2.4 with Updated DataFlow Module

Chyron has released Weather 2.4, an update to its weather suite for broadcasters and meteorologists. The release focuses on enhancements to the DataFlow module,...

17/06/2026

VSiN Launches Best Bets TV, a 24/7 FAST Channel

VSiN, The Sports Betting Network, has announced the launch of Best Bets TV, a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel. The 24/7 channel is currently avail...

17/06/2026

Snapchat and Team Whistle Launch World Cup Creator Program Across Miami, New York, and Los Angeles

DAZN's Team Whistle and Snap Inc. have announced a creator program centered ...

17/06/2026

LiveU Supporting Broadcast and Public Safety Operations for Summer of Soccer

LiveU is providing video transmission technology for broadcasters, production companies, and public safety agencies across North America's busy Summer of So...

17/06/2026

NATAS Announces Two New Board Members and COO Promotion

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) has announced that Laurens Grant and Jacob Ullman have joined its Board of Directors. Chief of Staf...

17/06/2026

Akta Brings AI-First Cloud Video Workflows to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

Akta, the AI-First SaaS video platform for modern broadcast and streaming operations, today announced that its video platform is now generally available on Orac...

17/06/2026

SVG Students to Watch: Nicholas Stafford, Texas Southern University

This recent graduate from Houston found inspiration in technical directing and now eyes a future career in sports production...

17/06/2026

InfoComm 2026: Audio-Technica Brings New Wireless, Networked Audio, and Certified Conferencing Solutions

Audio-Technica (booth C7959) arrives at InfoComm 2026 in Las Vegas with a slate ...

17/06/2026

SNS Positions AI Suite as On-Premise Answer to Video Indexing and Search Demands

SNS has published a guide addressing growing demand for AI-powered video indexing, transcription, facial recognition, and searchable metadata across media libra...

17/06/2026

Providius Announces Providius Direct for Network Troubleshooting on NETGEAR Pro AV Switches

Providius has announced Providius Direct, a workflow for investigating network i...

17/06/2026

NEP Launches NEP Platform Software Orchestration System, Selects Bridge Technologies VB440

NEP Group has announced the commercial availability of NEP Platform, a software ...

17/06/2026

BBright White Paper: SRT vs. RIST for Professional Video Contribution and Distribution

A new white paper examining Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) and Reliable Interne...

17/06/2026

Bango Research: 51% of Gen Z Say Highlights Are Replacing Live Games

New research from subscription bundling platform Bango finds that younger sports fans are increasingly consuming sport through highlights, clips, and social med...

17/06/2026

SMPTE Opens Entire Standards Library to Public at No Cost

SMPTE has announced that its complete Standards catalog is now freely available to the global media technology community, including all published SMPTE Standard...

17/06/2026

MediaKind Completes Merger with Harmonic's Video Business, Creating Independent Video Infrastructure Heavyweight

Harmonic has completed the sale of its Video Business to MediaKind for $145 mill...

17/06/2026

Omaha Productions to Produce 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event Coverage for ESPN

Omaha Productions will produce the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vega...

17/06/2026

SoundBridge 3.1.0 now available

New features, changes & bug fixes SoundBridge have just released another update for their remote collaboration-focused DAW - reviewed here in SOS March 2026...

17/06/2026

Fryette launch the Valvulator Mini

Valve-based front end for digital & modelling rigs The latest addition to Fryette's product range delivers a packed-down, pedalboard-friendly version of...

17/06/2026

The Biggest UK Pro Audio Show In 20 Years!

GearExpo UK - 27 June 2026 Sound On Sound are proud to announce GearExpo UK, a major new recording and music technology exhibition in London! This is the bi...

17/06/2026

Genelec introduce the 9402A System Management Device

SAM monitoring line-up gains Dante and AES67 support The latest expansion of Genelec's UNIO monitoring ecosystem introduces a new device that provides D...

17/06/2026

The R&SPR300 portable receiver from Rohde & Schwarz sets new standards in spectrum monitoring

The R&S PR300 portable receiver from Rohde & Schwarz sets new standards in spect...

17/06/2026

Elt Group and Rohde & Schwarz sign a cooperation agreement to explore commercial opportunities in electronic warfare and defense

Elt Group and Rohde & Schwarz sign a cooperation agreement to explore commercial...

17/06/2026

NABLF Graduates Its 2026 Broadcasting Leadership Training Class

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/06/2026

ABC and ESPN Score Most-Watched NBA Finals Since 1998

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/06/2026

Smartly, Roku Bring Social Performance Tools to CTV

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/06/2026

Pliant Technologies Debuts Crewcom Flex at InfoComm 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/06/2026

The Immersive Supervisor Emerges as Hollywood's Next Production Role

The Immersive Supervisor Emerges as Hollywood's Next Production Role Brie Clayton June 17, 2026 0 Comments Above image: On set live immersive revi...

17/06/2026

Vertical Musical Playback Shot with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K

Vertical Musical Playback Shot with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Brie Clayton June 17, 2026 0 Comments Large format sensor and DaVinci Resolve workflow used fo...

17/06/2026

DAZ 3D Launches New Game-Ready Character Assets Built for Modern Engines and Production Workflows

DAZ 3D Launches New Game-Ready Character Assets Built for Modern Engines and Pro...

17/06/2026

Spectrum Awards $1.1 Million in Digital Education Grants

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/06/2026

XR Sports Alliance Adds New Members

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/06/2026

AIMS Launches Free Online IPMX Training Series

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/06/2026

Kiloview Partners with SFM to Expand AV-over-IP Solutions...

Montr al, Quebec, June 11, 2026 Kiloview, a leading provider of AV-over-IP and NDI -based video transmission solutions, today announced a distribution partner...

17/06/2026

Kiloview Launches U4 IP Video Dock Bringing Professional...

Changsha, China, June 15, 2026 Kiloview officially announced the launch of U4 IP Video Dock, a compact IP video decoder and output dock designed to bring prof...

17/06/2026

Half Year, Half Off! Ivory II Summer Sale is Here

Save 50% on All Ivory II Pianos and Collections Were halfway through the year, and we're cutting prices in half for the Ivory II Summer Sale! For a limite...

17/06/2026

Two in three fans will connect to venue WiFi this World Cup, Sky Business research reveals

Wednesday 17 June 2026 Two in three fans will connect to venue WiFi this World ...

17/06/2026

Visibility builds credibility - the tools you use every day...

Visibility builds credibility - the tools you use every day, now visible on your LinkedIn profile Published on Jun 17, 2026 Categories: Company News, Product ...

17/06/2026

Harmonic Completes Divestiture of Video Business to MediaKind

Transaction Positions Harmonic as a Pure-Play Broadband Company SAN JOSE, Calif. - June 17, 2026 - Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ: HLIT), the worldwide leader in virtual...

17/06/2026

FOX Advertising To Launch Industry's First End-to-End Agentic Advertising Platform, Powered by FOX AdStudio

FOX Advertising To Launch Industry's First End-to-End Agentic Advertising Pl...

17/06/2026

Building resilience in an era of compounding threats

How SGN is future-proofing critical national infrastructure with Arqiva Managed Connectivity. When disruption becomes the norm As Storm Eunice tore across the ...

17/06/2026

Good Vibrations hit Dublin and Limerick as RT Concert Orchestra plays the music of the Beach Boys

The RT Concert Orchestra will bring the timeless music of The Beach Boys to aud...

17/06/2026

June 16, 2026

Calibr-Skaggs awarded $5.1M by NIH to develop long-acting hepatitis B virus therapy A new program aims to replace a daily HBV drug with once-monthly or even qua...

16/06/2026

Thomson launches new learning App

Thomson's highly regarded expert-led online learning courses are now easier to access on the go via our new App. Available now on Google Play Store, the J...

16/06/2026

Neumann MT 48 Receives Major Firmware 2.0 Update

Neumann.Berlin has released firmware version 2.0 for the MT 48 audio interface, adding plugin compatibility, expanded Dante networking options, broadcast encode...

16/06/2026

TVNewsCheck Opens Nominations for 2027 Women in Technology Awards

TVNewsCheck has announced that nominations are now open for its 2027 Women in Technology Awards, to be presented at NAB Show 2027 on Tuesday, April 6 in the Med...