Ipek Karataylioglu

Ipek Karataylioglu is a flute player from Istanbul, Turkey. She started her flute education in Turkey at Mimar Sinan State Conservatory. She studied with Vieri Bottazzini for seven years. After Mimar Sinan, she studied at Interlochen Arts Academy with Nancy Stagnitta during her junior and senior years of high school and graduated with honors. She was chosen as a finalist in the Concerto Competition her second year of education at the Academy.  In the summer of 2018, Ipek auditioned for the National Flute Association’s High School Soloist competition and was chosen as a finalist. During her last year in Interlochen Arts Academy, her quintet got to compete in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Ipek has performed in masterclasses with Andreas Blau, Jim Walker, and Davide Formisano. She is now in her senior year at The Juilliard School in the studio of Robert Langevin. Ipek has been recognized by the YoungArts foundation as an Honorable Mention. She was a finalist in the New York Flute Club Competition and was a winner at the Rochester Flute Association Collegiate Competition and San Diego Flute Guild Collegiate Competition. Ipek has twice been accepted to the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival orchestra for the summers of 2021 and 2022.

Interview with Ipek

Ipek thanked to the ATS for achieving her dreams. She commented as “Without the scholarship, I would not be able to attend the school of my dreams. Since starting flute at age nine, I have known and seen Juilliard through my favourite artists, documentaries, and movies. I remember my father asking me what I wanted to do when I grew up, and I always said I want to attend The Juilliard School. Thank you for supporting my dreams. Now I get to be the artist that I truly want to become and follow in the footsteps of great artists who also attended Juilliard.”

Why Juilliard? Juilliard has been a stepping stone for many artists. It has changed musicians’ life for the better because of its intense educational program that motivates its students to do their best and teaches them to work as efficiently as they can. Since attending Juilliard, I have learned how to be a better musician, how to promote myself professionally as an artist, and how to communicate as a professional musician. Without Juilliard, I would not be able to have the amazing opportunities to work with world-class musicians.

What are you most excited for this school year? I am excited that my education is coming to an end, even though it is bittersweet. I have learned a lot. Juilliard has prepared me for the next chapter of my life, which is my Master’s Degree. I am looking forward to applying the tools that I have gathered over the years of my education. The orchestra, my private lessons, and especially my woodwinds seminar class have prepared me for this moment. I am excited to see where life takes me, and to grow even more as an artist and a person.

How has attending Juilliard helped you develop personally and creatively? Juilliard is a place to find yourself as a musician and a person because there are a lot of different people who come here from all around the world like myself, and I think that has a lot to do with who I am today. I left my home country Turkey at age 15 and I was only 17 when I started at Juilliard. I have met so many people with so many different backgrounds and cultures, and we all partake in the language of music. I cannot thank Juilliard enough for giving me this connection. Every artist is different and that is what makes us so unique. There is never enough creativity in this world, and I am happy to be sharing mine

Aspirations My number one focus right now is to become an orchestra member. I would like to go to many concerts and take many lessons with amazing flutists who push me to become a better flute player. Along the way, I want to be as educated about my instrument as possible. I would love to be a teacher who inspires young flutists one day and helps them as much as my teachers throughout my education have. I think being a good teacher is the number one way to give back to the music world.

Please describe your most memorable experience thus far? As hard as it is to choose only one, I would like to say the people I met along the way will be in my memories always. It is such a blessing to make music with friends and colleagues who adore classical music as much as I do. Every time we go on stage as an orchestra, it is a thrilling experience. I have enjoyed the conductors that teach and inspire us to give our all on stage. Every time we go on stage is a different experience and every time you learn something new. It is a collective experience and I cannot be happier to share this adventure with the people that make the music even greater.