Turkish oud player and composer Baha Yetkin grew up in Istanbul, the melting pot of European and Middle Eastern musical cultures. This is reflected in his methodically-written compositions, which are an amalgamation of improvisations based on Istanbul music and the complex rhythmic structures of Middle Eastern music, all with an emotional, meditative and spiritual undertone.

His skilful playing has led to fruitful collaborations with Turkish and European masters such as Mustafa Keser, İnci Çayırlı, Melihat Gülses, Petros Klampanis, Michalis Kouloumis and Çiğdem Aslan. Yetkin was the first ever Turkish oud player to be invited to give a solo recital at the Royal Albert Hall. This was followed by performances at prominent concert venues in Turkey and Europe, such as Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall, Lütfi Kırdar Meeting and Performance Hall and Zorlu Performing Arts Center, Vortex, Green Note, to name a few.

He also performed in festivals such as Alamar World Music Fest in Almeria, Yeldeğirmeni Spring Jazz Festival in Istanbul and Rebetiko Carnival in London. He performed in musical such as Sekspir 7 at Oyun Atolyesi, A Museum in Baghdad at the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Band’s Visit(a Broadway musical) at Donmar Warehouse. He also has done oud and makam music workshops in Istanbul, London, Cambridge and Madrid. His latest workshop was at Cambridge University. He makes videos to explain Ottoman music makams on his Youtube channel and his Superpeer channel.

In 2015, Baha moved to London where he currently resides. He continues performing and teaching in the UK and online as well. His debut album The Pearl was released in March 2019, in 2020 he released 2 singles – Shine Again and Tears of The Pearl and his latest album “The Turkish Oud” was released in April 2021.


Experience

Associations work with

TV&Radio Programmes

Theatre (Musical)

Concerts

Taylan Polat’s Band

Cigdem Aslan’s Band

Merit Arianne Stephanos’ Project (Sun & Moon)

Stage works

Presentation and Workshops

Voluntary Works