Özden Gülsün
Born in 1983 in Izmir, Özden Gülsün started her music education in Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University State Conservatory as a violin student under Prof. Gönül Gökdoğan. She continued her violin education in Dokuz Eylül University State Conservatory under Prof. Attila Işıksun and Teaching Assistant Şebnem Edgü. In 2004, she was admitted to the Composition and Conductor Department of DEÜ State Conservatory and started studying under Prof. İstemihan Tavioğlu. In 2009, she was admitted to the post-graduate program of the same department and started teaching solfege and music theory the same year. She studied under Prof. Jean Baily, Ass. Prof. Ebru Güner Canbey, Ass. Prof. Onur Nurcan, and Teaching Assistant Mehmet Aktuğ throughout her education. In 2013, she started working as a research assistant in the Music Department of Trakya University State Conservatory. She completed her post-graduate studies with her thesis titled Examination of Atonal, Serial, and Minimal Styles and their Explanation through Select Examples at TÜ Institute of Social Sciences with Prof. Ahmet Hamdi Zafer ve Ass. Prof. Ebru Güner Canbey as her thesis advisors and she continues her doctorate education at the same institution.
She attended to masterclasses of Mark Mellits, Michael Ellison, Kamran İnce, Dimitris Andrikopoulos, Jan Feddersen Stathis Gyftathis, and Richardo Valligni during her composition studies. Her works have been played in various chamber concerts. Her orchestral work titles Ütopya (2009) was played by DEÜ State Conservatory Student Orchestra at Izmir Sabancı Art Center. In 2010, she participated in the “Mehmet Aktuğ Commemoration Concert” hosted by Ahmed Adnan Saygun Art Center with her work titled Yalnızlık (2010). In 2011, she attended to the “Klasik Keyifler Chamber Music Festival” masterclass and her work Kırık Ayna (2010) was played during the “Composers’ Cauldron” concert at KMYO Ottoman Madrasah, Cappadocia. In 2012, her work titles Kaleidoscope (2012) was played by Prof. Şeniz Duru Koevoets, Prof. Ümit İşgörür, and Yonca Alpay as part of the fifth “Journey of the Sound, Young Composers Festival” at İTÜ MİAM – Maçka Campus, Mustafa Kemal Amphiteater. In 2016, she attended to the concert performed as part of the “6th Synthermia International Music Festival” hosted in Thermi Municipality Conservatory Concert Hall in Thessaloniki, Greece with her work titled Hystheria (2016).
In 2020, she was selected as one of the composers to attend to the “Voice for the Voiceless Call for Scores Commissions” hosted by Soprano Chelsea Hollow. Her work titled Al Kan Kuşak (2020) will be played by Chelsea Hollow (soprano) and Taylor Chan (pianist) on December 12th in Berkeley Hillside Club in San Francisco, USA. In November 2020, she was selected as one of the composers to attend to “Deterritorializing the Realm of New Music” Call for West Asian Composers Commissions” hosted by Canadian Music Center. The work she has composed for the “Deterritorializing the Realm of New Music” Call for West Asian Composers” Project will be played by Anoush Moazzeni (pianist) in Canada in 2021.