Ülker Tümer

Born in Adana, Turkey, in 1998. Since 2021, she studies at the Reina Sofía School of Music’s Aline Foriel-Destezet Cello Chair, first with professor Ivan Monighetti and currently with professor Jens Peter Maintz. She has been granted scholarships by Goldman Sachs and Fundación Albéniz.

She began her cello studies in 2009 with Viacheslav Kaynov at the University of Çukurova’s State Conservatory and furthered her training with Dilbağ Tokay between 2013 and 2016 at the Istanbul State Conservatory of the Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts and, until 2021, at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg in Germany under the guidance of Jean Guihen Queyras.

She has attended masterclasses at the Kronberg Academy, AIMA, Amsterdam Cello Biennale, Rutesheim Cello Academy, Cervo Summer Academy and had the chance to study with internationally renowned cellists such as Anner Bylsma, Jens Peter Maintz, Julian Steckel, Maria Kliegel, Peter Bruns, Umberto Clerici, Christoph Henkel, Johannes Moser, Claus Kanngieser, Nicolas Altstaedt, Natalia Gutman, Claudio Bohorquez, Troels Svane, Gary Hoffman, Alban Gerhardt, Frans Helmerson, and Pablo Ferrández, as well as with Krzysztof Chorzelski and Josep Puchades (string ensembles).

Her artistic activity has led her to perform at the Big Bolgar Music Festival in Russia (2011) and the Iguazú En Concierto Festival with the Adana String Quartet (2013). She also gave a recital in İş Sanat during the Brilliant Young Artists concerto cycle (Parlayan Yıldızlar, 2014) and played at the Young Soloists concert cycle within the Pera International Music Festival.

She has been a member of the Doğuş Children Symphony Orchestra, the Saygun Camerata, and the AIMA Festival and Markgräfler Musikherbst Festival Orchestras. In 2018 she participated in the Britten Pears young artists programme as principal cello under the baton of Marin Alsop and gave concerts at the Snape Maltings Concert Hall. She has also performed as soloist with the Istanbul State Conservatory’s Orchestra, with Çukurova’s State Symphony Orchestra and with Olten Philamonie.

She has participated in many competitions. In 2015 she was awarded the first prize at the International Competition of Music of Germany and Austria in Bulgaria and the First Absolute Award in the City of Barletta International Music Competition (Italy). In 2017, she was awarded the Helmut Spehl award at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and the third prize at the Benyamin Sönmez International Cello Competition. In 2018 she was awarded the third prize at the Carl Seeman Awards and in 2020 she won the Helene Rosenberg scholarship at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg.

As a student of the School, she has been a member of the Freixenet Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Juanjo Mena and Péter Csaba, and that of the Freixenet Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Sir András Schiff and Andrés Salado. She has also been a member of the Asisa Óscar Esplá Quartet and of the Saint-Saëns and Casa de la Moneda Scarlatti ensembles. She is currently part of Mendelssohn Quartet and of the Viena Octet.