Turkish-American violinist, Zeynep Alpan, started studying the violin at the age of 5 as part of her music therapy treatment for her diagnosis of speech delay and Auditory Processing Disorder. Almost immediately after being introduced to the violin, Zeynep began to speak and following a year and a half of violin studies, she had her first solo appearance with Vivaldi’s A minor Violin Concerto, after winning the Peabody Concerto Competition.
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As an active soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician, Zeynep has appeared in a myriad of prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Cemal Resit Rey Concert Hall, and Strathmore Hall. From 2021-2023 she was invited to perform concerts for the President and First Lady of the Republic of Turkey. Future engagements include an Artist Residency at Bilkent University, and performances with her piano trio, TACL Trio in Turkey.
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As an impactful and passionate teacher, Zeynep is on faculty at prominent arts and educational organizations including the New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Lincoln Center, and Point CounterPoint. In 2022, Zeynep was appointed as conductor for the Youth Symphony Orchestra of St Lukes.
Other educational collaborations include mentoring students of Carnegie Hall's National Youth Orchestra U.S.A., and creating teaching video series with the Kennedy Center, PBS (WNET TV), and the Bloomingdale School of Music. Future engagements include working with the Art of Music Foundation in Kenya to create new educational curriculums and to train its teachers.
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Zeynep's students have had acceptances into the Manhattan School of Music Pre-College Division, various summer music programs (NYO-USA, Luzerne, Point CounterPoint), and full scholarship acceptances to universities including Northwestern University. Students have been accepted into multiple youth orchestras including the New Jersey Youth Symphony, the New York Youth Symphony, the Youth Orchestra of St. Luke's Symphony (concert master position), and the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York (concertmaster position). Zeynep's students are also top prizewinners in various competitions such as the American Virtuoso International Music Competition, the Rising Talents Festival, and the MYO Concerto Competition.
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Zeynep has produced a multitude of events including performances, workshops, and lectures. In 2019, Zeynep co-founded the Turkish American Cultural Laboratory (TACL) where she produces a variety of educational events and performances that enhance the cultural collaboration of the artists from America and Turkey through the contemporary arts. TACL is proud to be sponsored by Turkish Airlines.
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Zeynep is the first prize winner in many competitions, some of which include the Juilliard Concerto Competition, the Dorothy DeLay Fellowship Competition at the Aspen Music Festival and School, the National Philharmonic Concerto Competition, and the Goldie and Feder Memorial String Competition. Zeynep is the recipient of the Ataturk Youth Achievement Award by the Ataturk Society of America in Washington DC.
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Community outreach and service has played an important part in Zeynep’s musical life. In 2013, Zeynep co-founded the group Sonatas Stopping Starvation whose mission is to be of service as artists and citizens to organizations that work to fight hunger. Along with a school-wide food drive, they gave their first benefit concert in November 2013 at the Juilliard School. Additionally, Zeynep helps produce the Music and Autism Program at Stony Brook University, and has presented benefit concerts for the Inova Fairfax Children's Hospital. She regularly presents performances at various hospitals and health care facilities in New York and Ankara.
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Zeynep is a graduate of The Juilliard School (B.M. and M.M. under the Ahmet Ertegun Scholarship) and is a Doctoral Candidate of Violin Performance at Stony Brook University. Former teachers have included Naoko Tanaka, Oleg Rylatko, Aaron Rosand and Shirley Givens.
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Aside from music, Zeynep enjoys biking, reading, drinking tea, and being an avid cat and dog lover.
