Biography

Praised for his “colourful musical expression, excellent tone, and artistic vision,” Arcan İsenkul (born 2005 in Ankara) was selected for the prestigious Siemens Arts Program in 2025, through which he performed at the Weill Music Room of Carnegie Hall in New York.

He began his musical education in 2014 at the Bilkent University Music Preparatory School with Ece Akyol and graduated in 2023 from the class of Cavid Cafer. He is currently continuing his studies at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (HfMDK Frankfurt) with the renowned violist Prof. Tabea Zimmermann. He has received awards in numerous national and international solo and chamber music competitions, including the “Pirastro Outstanding Young Talent Award” at the 6th International Oskar Nedbal Viola Competition and first prize at the International Prof. Ruşen Güneş Viola Competition.

As a soloist, he has performed with the Ankara Youth Symphony Orchestra, Aurora Chamber Orchestra, Başkent Chamber Orchestra, Bilkent Youth Symphony Orchestra, Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, Bursa State Symphony Orchestra, Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality Symphony Orchestra, Hacettepe Symphony Orchestra, and the Luzerne Music Center Orchestra.

A passionate chamber musician, İsenkul has appeared at festivals including the Schwetzinger SWR Festival, Yellow Barn, Bilkent Music Days, Festival du Haut-Var, Luzerne Music Center, JM International Chamber Music Campus, and the G. Henle Chamber Music Academy. His chamber music partners include many distinguished artists such as Jaan Bossier, Lucas Fels, Stefan Hempel, Sebastian Klinger, Angelika Merkle, Tim Vogler, and Tabea Zimmermann. He has also taken part in masterclasses with esteemed musicians including Amihai Grosz, Marion Leleu, Tatjana Masurenko, German Tcakulov, Heime Müller, and Günter Pichler.

As an orchestral musician, he has served as principal viola in projects such as Concertgebouworkest Young, Concertgebouworkest String Fling, and the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra; he has also performed with the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, Bilkent Youth Symphony Orchestra, Ankara Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the Turkish Youth Philharmonic Orchestra.

İsenkul also extends his artistic vision into other media, blending his classical training with contemporary screen music. In this context, he co-composed the original scores for Jasmine (2025) for HBO Max and the film Bir Ömrün Sonbaharı (2025) in collaboration with Çetin Özen.

As a scholarship holder of the German Musical Instruments Fund of the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, Arcan İsenkul continues his artistic journey on a 1973 Josef Kantuscher viola, Op. 310, provided to him by the foundation.