Prof. Dr. SERLA BALKARLI

Serla Balkarlı, born in Mersin, completed her initial piano education in the Piano Department at Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory under Professor Güherdal Çakırsoy. Following her graduation, she worked as a Research Assistant in the Piano Department while pursuing her Master's degree at the same institution. In 1997, she was accepted into the "Cycle de Specialisation" program at the Conservatoire National de la Region de Strasbourg as a scholarship student of the French Government, where she studied piano with Professor Francis Phan-Thanh and chamber music with Professors Armand Angster and Joshua Epstein, ultimately earning her Specialist Diploma, “Diplome de Specialisation.”Following this graduation, she was accepted into the Doctor of Musical Arts program at the University of Arizona in the United States, where she studied piano under Prof. Nicholas Zumbro. In 2002, she returned to Turkey and completed her Doctorate program, which she had started in Arizona, at Anadolu University State Conservatory in the class of Prof. Zöhrab Adıgüzelzade, earning her "Proficiency in Arts" diploma. At this institution, where she began working as a lecturer, she achieved the titles of Assistant Professor in 2003, Associate Professor in 2006, and Professor in 2016. She has taken on various administrative roles, including Chair of the Piano Main Art Department, Head of the Music Department, and Deputy Director of the State Conservatory and the Institute of Fine Arts.

In addition to numerous solo recitals, concerts, and special recording projects, she performed concert events alongside many soloists, including Hakan Şensoy, Melih Kara, and Cihat Aşkın. During her studies abroad, she gave many recitals in Germany, France, and the United States, particularly at the Stuttgart Bach Academy. The foreign press described her recital at the Bach Academy as "We were proud of Serla Balkarlı, and we gave her a standing ovation." While studying in the U.S., she made studio recordings featuring the world premieres of several works. In 1998, she received the third prize at the Pierre Lantier International Piano Competition held in Paris. In addition to her solo and accompaniment recitals, chamber music concerts, and lectures/concerts in her home country, she performed as a soloist with the Ankara State Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, Çukurova Symphony Orchestra, Mersin State Opera and Ballet Orchestra, and Anadolu University Symphony Orchestra. Accompanied by the Anadolu Symphony Orchestra, she performed J.S. Bach's Concerto in C Minor for two pianos and S. Saint-Saëns's Le Carnaval des Animaux with pianist Toros Can. In 2018, as part of the 17th Mersin International Music Festival, she performed F. Mendelssohn's concerto for violin, piano, and strings with violinist Alican Süner, conducted by Özgür Oğuz and played L. van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, known as the "Emperor," with the Anadolu University Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Murat Sümer, during the special concert on November 10. As part of the "50th Year of Art" celebration concert, alongside pianist Hande Dalkılıç, she performed the concerto for two pianos dedicated to them by the composer Çetin Işıközlü with the Anadolu Symphony Orchestra. She also regularly participates as both a director and an artist in the International Piano Days events traditionally held at the Anadolu University State Conservatory.

Professor Serla Balkarlı, who published a book titled "Accompaniment: Paths to Follow in Education and Performance" through Nisan Publishing in 2014, has been working as a faculty member in the Piano Department of the State Conservatory at Anadolu University since 2002. She continues her academic work and concerts. Additionally, since 2017, she has been the producer and host of the "Music Table" program aired on Borusan Classical Radio. She also shares music news from Eskişehir in her column for the Concert Behind Music Magazine and continues to write articles on artistic topics for two years.