Dr. Zeynep Alpan, a Turkish-American violinist, began her musical journey at the age of five as part of music therapy for speech delay and Auditory Processing Disorder. Remarkably, shortly after being introduced to the violin, she began speaking. Within a year and a half of violin studies, she made her solo debut performing Vivaldi’s A Minor Violin Concerto after winning thePeabody Concerto Competition.
Dr. Alpan has performed at world-renowned venues, including Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, the Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, and Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall. She has been invited to perform for the President and First Lady of the Republic of Türkiye, toured Türkiye with herpiano trio, TACL Trio, and participated in an artistic residency at Bilkent University. Her accolades include first prizes in competitions such as the Juilliard Concerto Competition, the Dorothy DeLay Fellowship Competition, and the National Philharmonic Concerto Competition. She was honored with the Atatürk Youth Achievement Award by the Atatürk Society of America and served as a guest speaker and soloist at the Turkish-American Women Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C.
As a dedicated educator, Dr. Alpan serves on the faculty of the New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Lincoln Center, and Point CounterPoint. She is on the Advisory Board of the Althafen Foundation and holds the Karen and William Watt Youth Orchestra of St. Luke’s Symphony Conductor Chair. Dr. Alpan has mentored students in programs such as Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra U.S.A., Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program, and the Kenan Fellowship Program. Her educational video series have been featured by the Kennedy Center, PBS, and the Bloomingdale School of Music.
Dr. Alpan’s students have achieved success in prestigious programs, including Juilliard Pre-College, Manhattan School of Music Pre-College, and youth orchestras such as the New York Youth Symphony, NYO-USA, and the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York. Many of her students have also won top prizes in competitions, including the American Virtuoso International Music Competition and the MYO Concerto Competition and have gone on to receive full scholarships at various universities.
As a producer, Dr. Alpan co-founded the Turkish American Cultural Laboratory (TACL) in 2019, fostering cultural collaboration between the U.S. and Türkiye with sponsorship by Turkish Airlines. In 2024, she launched a summer music boot camp in Nairobi, Kenya, where she trained teachers in pedagogical techniques and provided hands-on mentorship to students and teachers.
Dr. Alpan holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, where she studied under the Ahmet Ertegun Scholarship, and earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University. Her esteemed teachers include Naoko Tanaka, Oleg Rylatko, Aaron Rosand, and Shirley Givens.
Beyond music, Dr. Alpan enjoys strength training, reading, coffee, and her love for cats and dogs.