New York Gypsy Festival Presents: Istanbul to NYC Balkan Gypsy Fire/ Serkan Cagri

Serkan Çagri was born in “Kesan”, Turkey, a town located close to the border of Bulgaria and Greece. He spent his entire childhood in this mixed culture and was first introduced to the clarinet in his primary school days. His early contact with the clarinet intensified his involvement with music, eventually resulting in his receiving the “Special Award in the Best Clarinet Performer Contest” when he was only thirteen. His desire to explore the clarinet led him to pursue music studies at the Turkish Music conservatories: Aegean (Ege), Istanbul Teknik (Istanbul Technical) University and Haliç (Golden Horn) University respectively.

Serkan Çagri was born in “Kesan”, Turkey, a town located close to the border of Bulgaria and Greece. He spent his entire childhood in this mixed culture and was first introduced to the clarinet in his primary school days. His early contact with the clarinet intensified his involvement with music, eventually resulting in his receiving the “Special Award in the Best Clarinet Performer Contest” when he was only thirteen. His desire to explore the clarinet led him to pursue music studies at the Turkish Music conservatories: Aegean (Ege), Istanbul Teknik (Istanbul Technical) University and Haliç (Golden Horn) University respectively.

Following his studies he began his professional music career with Grup Laçin, an ensemble that has performed in both national and international tours. He was featured as a guest artist in Mercan Dede & Secret Tribe, Kardes Türküler and Yarkin Ensemble projects at the Montreux Jazz (Switzerland), Jazz a Vienne (France), Rhythm Sticks (England), the Moers Festival (Germany), Etnomalaga (Spain) and Skobye Jazz (Macedonia). He is currently leading his own band on various projects with guest artists such as the vocal virtuoso, Yildiz Ibrahimova and the renowned Greek clarinetist, Vassilis Saleas.

His academic studies have embraced the research of the Historical Process of Clarinet in Turkey and Europe, culminating in the publication of several articles and his research inspired him to write the educational book, “Techniques of Performing G Clarinet”, which can be found in music stores.

Through his interest in the capabilities of the clarinet, Serkan was commissioned to redesign the pitch setting of the instrument for the leading clarinet manufacturer, AMATI-DENAK, resulting in a new G-clarinet, titled the “Serkan Çagri” model.

Serkan's first album was “My Breath”, published in 2005, followed by the 2008 album, “Ala”, published by SONY&BMG. His latest recording is "Serkan Çagri & Rumeli Band".

Serkan Çagri currently writes and presents a music program on the national TV channel, TRT.