Global Education Events

Performer Bio

Dr. Nağme Yarkın, who was born into a musician family, started music at the age of 3 by
taking piano lessons. She graduated from Composition Department at Istanbul University State Conservatory with Master's and Doctorate degrees. With her traditional instrument, the kemenche from Istanbul, she not only introduces traditional Turkish music to the world, but also makes innovations in the field of jazz fusion by playing her own compositions and arrangements in her concerts and albums, with the Yarkın Duo and Quartet groups she established with her brother, pianist Baturay Yarkın. By combining these two music genres, they have performed at various festivals, concerts and given workshops in many countries from Europe to America. Since 2017, they have been giving concerts within Silkroad GMW, founded by Yo-Yo Ma. In 2018, they gave two workshops at Berklee College of Music.

Yarkın, had concerts with Andre Rieu as part of his world tour in 2013 and 2014. In 2022, she released the polyphonic Istanbul kemençe album “Künh” consisting of her own compositions, as the first in the world. In the 2022-2023 season, she continues her studies at the University of Alberta in Canada as an invited instructor for a year. She also has been working as an
Assoc. Prof at Istanbul University State Conservatory since 2012.

Performer Bio

Afarin Nazarijou, an Iranian Qanun player, started music by playing Piano at five and expanded Qanun (traditional Persian string instrument), which became her primary instrument. She also started to play the Tombak (Persian percussion instrument) in the Tehran Music School, where she graduated with a high school diploma. Afarin graduated from the University of Tehran with a bachelor's and master of Performing Iranian music. 

To expand her multicultural perspective of music, she decided to go abroad. She was accepted into the master's program of Contemporary Improvisation at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and graduated in 2021. In the same year, she got accepted into the master's program at the University of Alberta.

She played in many music festivals around Europe and North America in the last decade. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge and passion for music with different cultures globally, playing Iranian Classical music, free improvisation, composing, and arranging for mixed ensembles.