Even though I studied music for many years, I ended up pursuing a career in business. At the age of 40, however, I decided to take the plunge and make a major life change to embrace my love for music.
I started my musical education at the age of eight with private classical piano lessons, and then went on to classical voice, solfege and classical harmony while pursuing a normal academic course of study in two of Turkey’s most prestigious schools, Istanbul Lycee and Bogazici University, where I graduated with honors and a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Political Science.
My dream was to do a master of music degree in Europe, and my classical music teachers encouraged me to follow this path as well, but in 2002, I found myself working in the corporate world instead. The demands of my job made it all but impossible to strike a balance between my business career and music, so sadly my musical aspirations were shelved so that I could focus on my career. I moved up the business ladder as a Corporate Communicator and achieved significant success, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing.
My desire to become a vocalist lay buried for more than 10 years, until 2013 when I heard about four Berklee graduates that had started an intensive jazz program in Istanbul. Strangely enough, the only albums I had purchased during those 10 years were from jazz vocalists. My interest had shifted away from classical music to jazz, and I found myself going to every concert and festival I could find, making friends with Istanbul’s jazz musicians in the process. I eagerly jumped at the chance to participate in the two-year program and devoted my spare time to my jazz education.
Much to everyone’s surprise and the consternation of some, in September 2014, I resigned from the company I had been working at for more than 12 years and took off for six months of self-reflection, while continuing my musical training with weekly private lessons on advanced jazz vocal techniques and improvisation. When I returned to my job as the Corporate Communications Manager of one of Turkey’s biggest energy companies, I already knew that what I wanted to be was a stage performer, and this time I was not about to let my job stand in my way. In 2015, I formed a band and started performing once every other month both as the Rişe Özkan Quartet and as a guest artist with the Ülkem Özsezen Quartet.
Although my colleagues and the senior management supported my musical aspirations, the demands of the job simply did not leave enough time for me to do what I knew had to be done to improve my musicianship, so in 2017, I resigned and left the corporate world behind to study at a reputable jazz program.
In September 2017, I started my master’s degree in Jazz Vocal Performance at William Paterson University and graduated in May 2019. After years of longing for the chance to completely immerse myself in music, I embraced this opportunity and passionately dove into my studies. The faculty of world-class New York jazz musicians and other brilliant students was the perfect opportunity to hone my skills. I am grateful that I have come this far and excited about what comes next.
P.S. If you are wondering, Rişe is pronounced Ree-sheh.