Didem Erken

Didem Erken graduated in 1999 from Bilkent University, Faculty of Music and Performing Arts,
where she pursued her education as a student of Prof. Doğan Cangal. In the MIAM master’s
program at Istanbul Technical University, to which she was admitted the same year, she studied for two years with Reyent Bölükbaşı. During her education in Istanbul, she took part in various arts ensembles, above all the Cemal Reşit Rey Symphony
Orchestra. Erken was admitted to the Victoria Conservatory in Canada in 2001. In 2002 and 2003 she took part in the Victoria Performing Arts Festival Competition and was deemed worthy of an award
in the cello category. Between 2002 and 2004 she worked as a cello and chamber music lecturer at the Victoria Conservatory.
A founding member of the “Hermes Quartet,” the institution’s resident quartet, Erken represented the school on tours covering the
entirety of British Columbia with this ensemble. In addition to continuous music activities, she also took part in various arts ensembles such as the Bach Ensemble, the Vancouver Island
Symphony Orchestra and the St Cecilia Orchestra. Completing her Proficiency in Art studies
at Bilkent University, Erken took part for 6 years at the same institution as a Lecturer and an artist of the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra.
Didem Erken, who currently serves as a faculty member at the Kocaeli University State Conservatory, is also a member of the Cello Paradiso Cello Quartet.