SELEN ERKAN'S BIO

Selen Erkan is a Turkish-American pianist, singer, composer, and music educator. Her musical journey started in 1982 as a classical piano student of Güherdal Karamanoğlu Çakırsoy in Ankara, Turkey. 

Her piano accompaniment for the musical ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ as part of ‘Drama Club’, TED Ankara College in 1992 is the origin of her background in musical theatre which led to her role as the pianist and music director of ‘Ankara Müzikal Topluluǧu’, addressing many audiences in Ankara and Turkey, including their performance during the 220th Anniversary of the Independence of the United States in 1996.

She studied music theory and composition with Elhan Bakihanov at Bilkent University from where she also holds a bachelor’s degree in economics. She moved to the U.S. and received her master’s in international economics from Brandeis University in 2000.

She graduated from the Diploma Program of Mannes College, The New School for Music in 2006. Her classical piano studies with Michael Oelbaum and her extensive training in western music history, keyboard harmony, counterpoint, ear-training, orchestration, sight-reading, chamber music, and world music helped her become a full-fledged musician.

After Mannes College, she worked as an economist at the leading performing rights organization ASCAP (American Society for Composers, Authors and Publishers). 

Her teaching career started in 2009 and developed into a passion for educating children of all ages and adults to become musicians who are well-versed in music theory and piano technique. She is a member of Music Teachers National Association as well as a Steinway Educational Partner. 

She has been performing many musical genres since an early age including American folk music, classical, jazz standards, barbershop music, Broadway, world music, holiday music, children's songs, popular music and Turkish folk music. 

She continues her composition studies with Faye-Ellen Silverman. She lives in New Jersey where she dedicates her time to her nephews, her students, composing and learning new music every day.