Biography

In an emotional message to her fans, AyseDeniz writes, 

 

When I was growing up, people told me that I couldn't be good in academics and in music; that I couldn't play classical AND rock; that I couldn't touch jazz or pop, and definitely cannot wear sneakers to concerts!

 

When I got older, industry members said I should only focus on one genre because they think YOU only listen to one genre and live in a box! Guess what - they were wrong, and I am so glad I didn't listen to any of them!

 

AyseDeniz was considered a child prodigy in her native Türkiye and made her concerto debut when she was nine, with the Gordion Chamber Orchestra playing J.S. Bach’s Keyboard Concerto No. 5. At thirteen, she had already performed as a soloist with various orchestras under conductors including Ibrahim Yazici, Fahrettin Kerimov, Antonio Pirolli, Cem Mansur, Engin Sakpinar, Ertug Korkmaz, Rengim Gokmen, Vladimir Sirenko, and Kirill Karabits. 

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As a young pianist, AyseDeniz attended prestigious summer festivals including the Verbier Academy, Music Academy of the West, Aspen Music Festival and School, PianoTexas, Goslar Konzertarbeitswochen, Tel Hai, and Beijing International Music Festival, studying with renowned piano pedagogues such as Menahem Pressler, Jerome Lowenthal, Arie Vardi, Yoheved Kaplinsky, as well as Lang Lang. In middle school, AyseDeniz moved to Spain for half a year to study with the renowned Bach interpreter Rosalyn Tureck, becoming one of her last students.

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In 2009, she completed her Bachelor's Degree at Eastman School of Music (Rochester NY) in the studio of Douglas Humpherys with all semesters on Dean's List, and received the Howard Hanson and Clements Scholarships as well as the John Celentano Excellence in Chamber Music Award. In 2011, She completed her Masters in Piano Performance at the Royal Academy of Music in London, under the tutelage of Christopher Elton, and received the Maud Hornsby Award, graduated with Merit, and also completed the Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music Teaching Certificate.

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Throughout her early career, AyseDeniz has given concerts around the world including Cathedral of Christ The Savior Moscow (Russia); L’Eglise Verbier (Switzerland); Duke’s Hall, Steinway Hall, Kings Place London (UK); Bellapais Antique Monastery (Northern Cyprus); Kiev Central Park of Culture Open Air Hall, Lysenko Hall (Ukraine); PepsiCo Hall (TX), Kilbourn Hall (NY), Harris Hall (CO), Pacific Amphitheater (CA) in USA; Teatro Cine Chacabuco (Argentina); Teatro Cine Gouveia, Teatro das Figuras Faro, Centro Cultural de Ãlhavo, Centro Cultural da Gafanha da Nazare, Groove Cascais (Portugal); Galleria d’Arte Moderna, San Fedele Milan, Teatro Dario Fo Venice, and St. Giorgio Cathedral Palermo (Italy); Silent Green Kulturquartier Berlin and Konzertsaal Friedenskapelle Münster (Germany); Sofia Central Military Club (Bulgaria), Ambato City Hall (Ecuador); Afundación and Mar de Vigo (Spain) and in almost all of Türkiye’s most important music halls including Süreyya Opera House, Albert Long Hall, CRR, CKM and Zorlu PSM (Istanbul), State Opera House (Eskisehir); City Hall (Adana); Atatürk Cultural Center & KSÜ Yunus Emre Cultural Center (Antalya); Opera Hall (Mersin); Hikmet Simsek Cultural Center, (Izmir); METU, CSO and MEB Sura (Ankara). You can see her past concerts here.

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She is recognized internationally for her ability to unite the classical genre with classic rock and create original rock arrangements and compositions, which she now performs for fans worldwide to sold-out shows.

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Here is a timeline of some of her milestones:

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In 2007, upon hearing AyseDeniz’s interpretation of Chopin's Sonata No. 3, Nikolai Petrov personally invited her to perform in the Kremlin Palace in Moscow, which took place in 2008.

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In 2011, AyseDeniz made a rebellious and unprecedented move to compose piano arrangements of Pink Floyd songs in the style of Franz Liszt, to celebrate his 200th anniversary and put them online in September 2012.

 

In January 2013, they went viral and were shared on Classic FM, BBC News as well as the official Pink Floyd Facebook Page: 

 

"Over the years, there have been (at the very least) thousands of cover versions of Pink Floyd songs. However, recently, a new approach to three of the band's tracks has captured the imagination of the classical world. A young Turkish pianist and graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, AyseDeniz Gokcin has interpreted Floyd's music in a 'Lisztian' way."

 

Upon the requests of fans, she released "Pink Floyd Classical Concept" Album and toured internationally, premiering it in Argentina and then performing it over the years in Bulgaria, Portugal, USA, Morocco, Italy, Spain, Ecuador, Türkiye and Germany.

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In 2014, she performed her Pink Floyd arrangements on the main stage of Pianocity Milano Festival in Italy, to 3000 listeners.
 

In 2015, AyseDeniz released the "Nirvana Project," dedicated to Kurt Cobain. It reached the UK Top 10 Classical Charts on iTunes. She also composed and performed for Editta Braun Dance Company and toured Salzburg, Vienna, Linz and Edinburgh.

 

In 2016 she won the 'Pianist of the Year' Donizetti Awards in Türkiye, given by Andante Music Magazine. She performed Nirvana Project in Pianocity Milano Main Stage to 3000 people.

 

In 2017 she made her debut at New York City's iconic 'Le Poisson Rouge. and gave her first TEDX talk: "Piano is a Time Machine".

 

In 2018, she was named one of the three rising stars on BBC Music Magazine's "Ones to Watch Out For."

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In January 2019, AyseDeniz's original album, "Earth Prelude," entered the Top 10 iTunes classical charts in the UK, USA, Turkey, and Italy. In February, she released her Beethoven Senses Album with the composer's five iconic sonatas as a preparation for his 250th anniversary. In April 2019, AyseDeniz became a Kawai Artist.

 

In January 2020, AyseDeniz released her Motus Album: a collection of her original short piano pieces including 'Home' which she composed after having to evacuate her home due to the 2019 wildfires in California. The track asks us: What is home? Where is home? What defines it? It became her most popular track reaching almost 4 Million streams on Spotify alone.

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In March 2020, 'Home' changed its meaning as most of the world could not leave their homes. AyseDeniz gave 24 consecutive free concerts from her home on Facebook, reaching over 900K views and creating a community with her fans supporting one another. She composed and released her Dreamscape Album during this time to escape the realities of life. She also released Hey World Album, comprising the songs requested by her fans during her live streams. The music video of Hey Jude song reworded positively by AyseDeniz to get through the pandemic: 'Hey World' sung by her fans from their houses premiered on the Virtual Pianocity Milano Festival.

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In 2021 AyseDeniz created and launched her pandemic project: an online piano academy called Borderless Piano for beginners to learn how to play the piano, completely designed, produced and taught by AyseDeniz herself! She also appeared on BBC Radio 3 “This Classical Life” with Jess Gillam.

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In 2022 AyseDeniz was listed as one of the 20 under 40 Young Shapers of the Future of Music by Encyclopaedia Britannica alongside Adele, Lil Nas and Lorde. She also became a Henle Verlag Brand Ambassador.

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In August 2022, she recorded her album Patterns with Audio Network UK for film TV and advertising, consisting of her original compositions for piano and string orchestra, releasing in May 2023 on all digital music platforms.

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In February 2023, AyseDeniz launched Help In Harmony Music Relief Project with her friends in USA to help the children survivors of the earthquake in Türkiye through long-term psychosocial work. They are currently doing fundraising, social media call to musicians, and curriculum design with music therapists for live and digital projects.

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In March 2023, she performed at SXSW Music Festival in Austin TX, on the British Music Institute stage and the SXSW Official Classical Showcase.

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In June, her first orchestral album Patterns for TV/Media was released by Audio Network.

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In August, she made her Los Angeles Debut at Disney Concert Hall, premiering her compositions Kelton and Chaos with LAKMA Philharmonic.

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AyseDeniz has over 500K fans online and her albums are on all digital platforms. You can follow AyseDeniz on: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Her original piano scores & arrangements are on Music Notes. You can also sign up for her Borderless Piano Academy.

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