Ece Selin Yuksel is continuing her career as a soloist, orchestral musician and teacher who has won notable awards in the United Kingdom, France and Turkey. Yuksel, with several awards for her chamber music performances, has graduated from the soloist class of a highly reputable music school, École Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot, with the highest degree of unanimous vote and congratulations of the jury and received the Artist Diploma.
Education
She started her music and flute education at the age of ten with Assoc. Dr. Hakan Halit Turgay. Yuksel completed her secondary and high school education at Istanbul University State Conservatory, her undergraduate education at Mersin University State Conservatory, and her master’s degree at Ankara Music and Fine Arts University with her thesis “Contemporary Flutist-Composer Ian Clarke’s Contribution to Flute Playing Art and Literature”. After graduated from Halit Turgay’s class Yuksel, became a student of Jean Ferrandis at the École Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot in 2018, where she also studied flute orchestra with Vincent Prats, chamber music with Nina Patarcec, Analysis of Form and Style with Philippe Gantchoula and piccolo flute with Pierre Monty. Meanwhile, she has attended the masterclasses of the flutists such as William Bennett, Emmanuel Pahud, Andreas Blau, Lorna McGhee, Michie Bennett, Manuel Morales, Caroline Debonne, Robin Kani, Lena Kildahl, Irina Stachinskaya, Yaeram Park, Başak Ersöz and Jennifer Stinton.
Awards
Yuksel won the first prize in the 1st National İzmir Flute Competition, Special Award for Best Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Composer Performance at the British Flute Society (BFS) Flute Competition, second prize at the Auguste Holmès Music Academy Flute Competition. In addition, Ece, who is active in the field of chamber music, won the second prize in the AKOB Chamber Music Competition with her bandmates second prize in the 3rd Mediterranean Chamber Music Competition and the first prize with Linos Duo in the 4th AKOB National Chamber Music Competition.
Career
Yuksel started her soloist career at the age of eighteen by performing Aram Khachaturian’s Flute Concerto, one of the most important concertos of the flute repertoire, with the Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Işın Metin. Later, she performed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Flute Concerto in G Major with Mersin University State Conservatory Orchestra under the direction of Münif Akalın; she performed André Jolivet’s Flute Concerto with the Cemal Reşit Rey Young Chamber Orchestra conducted by Erol Erdinç. The artist has worked in orchestras such as Berlin Opera Academy, Turkish-German-French Youth Orchestra, Istanbul Youth Symphony Orchestra, Cemal Reşit Rey Symphony Orchestra, Istanbul University State Conservatory Symphony Orchestra and Mersin University State Conservatory Academic Chamber Orchestra conducted by Ardashes Agoshian, Münif Akalın, Ramiz Melikov Aslanov, Dağhan Doğu, Daniel Fedorean, Artun Hoinic, Peter Leonard, Cem Mansur, Kerem Memişoğlu, Naci Özgüç, Carlos Spierer, Orhan Şallıel, Lutz de Veer and Serdar Yalçın. She performed at festivals such as the Bosphorus University Albert Long Hall Classical Music Events, III. International Pera Music Festival, the Istanbul Woodwind Festival, the 20th MusicAlp Festival, the Berlin Opernfest and the 48th Istanbul Music Festival.
Apart from flute, she studied piano with Zümrüt Aliyeva, choir with Ardashes Agoshian and harmony with Uğur Ünel. She obtained 5th Grade piano and music theory diplomas from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM); 8th Grade and DipABRSM diplomas in flute.
Throughout her education, she received valuable support from her own school, École Normale de Musique de Paris, as well as the Mediterranean Opera and Ballet Club Music Scholarship, İKSV Women Stars of Tomorrow Support Fund and Dr. Nejat F. Eczacıbaşı Foundation Music Scholarship.
Yuksel continues her pedagogical education at the University of Rouen / Normandy Music Teacher Centre, her proficiency in art (DMA) at Istanbul University and her performance studies at the École Normale de Musique de Paris. She is also a flutist of the Royal Palace Academy Symphony Orchestra, co-organiser of the Halit Turgay Flute School and assistant of Jean Ferrandis.