Rising Stars: Meet Burak Besir

Today we’d like to introduce you to Burak Besir.

Hi Burak, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am a classically trained flautist, composer, recording artist, and ethnic woodwind instrumentalist, and I’ve recently moved to Irvine, CA.

I was born in Cyprus, a small beautiful island in the Mediterranean. At the age of 14, I left my country to pursue a thorough classical music education at the Ankara State Conservatory in mainland Turkey. I earned my master’s degree in performing at the Royal Scottish Academy in Scotland. In 2003, I was awarded the UK Concert Artist and performed at various music festivals and concert halls, including Wigmore Hall in the UK and Scotland.

I was the principal flute in the Istanbul Opera and Ballet and second flute at the Borusan Philharmonic Orchestra for several years. Receiving a scholarship from Berklee College of Music in 2008, my small family and I moved to America. Although I continued to pursue my love for performing, at Berklee I switched my concentration into composing, as I studied Contemporary Writing and Production. After earning my degree, I moved to Los Angeles, and since then, I have continued my career near home and all over the world for various projects.

I had the privilege to study and collaborate with world-famous flutists and musicians. My flute choir arrangement, “Smetana” premiered at the Galway Flute Festival. I appeared as a guest artist multiple times at the Galway Flute Festival and the National Flute Association where I performed some of my original compositions, and most recently, I was part of “Beyond the Masterclass” with Jim Walker at the Pepperdine University, where I gave an ethnic flute masterclass and performed my recent composition “Serene”.

Featuring Jim Walker, my flute-piano album, “Passion” received a Global Music Award in 2017 and was fyc for a Grammy.

Throughout the years, I’ve performed at various international venues and events. Some of them include 86th Oscar Concert at the Royce Hall with the Academy Orchestra, Boston Symphony Hall with the Video Game Orchestra, toured with VGO at the national PAX Conventions, a “Zelda” live concert in Las Vegas, and the 21worldtour with the Persian singer, Googoosh, as a part of her band.

Being an active part and supporter of The Global Collaborative, an organization that advocates for survivors of child sexual abuse, I performed at Santo Stefano degli Abissini in the Vatican and premiered my composition “Heroes” at the gala event commemorating the first World Day (November 17th, 2022) for the “Prevention of, and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Violence”, formally recognized by the United Nations. It was one of a lifetime experience, and I was given the honour to meet Pope Francis.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s definitely not a smooth but very rocky road! I had a lot of struggles along the way but I believe challenges will never end which makes us grow and makes life more meaningful.

Leaving my family and my country at the age of 14 was not easy at all. I was alone in a new country in a small dormitory room of the conservatory. My biggest companion was my instrument “flute” But to be surrounded with similar-minded, talented, and passionate kids became my extended family.

After completing the Music Conservatory in Turkiye, I decided to go to the UK to continue my music education and career. Here the biggest challenge was my English. My English was very poor. So I had to learn English, support myself financially and apply to distinguished music conservatories and also I needed a better flute. I played at multiple gigs during the night and went to language school during the day and practiced flute for hours every day for the Royal Scottish Academy auditions. There were ninety applications to the program and only they had two places available. I was more nervous about the interview process than performing since my English was still not very good. I was lucky that I was one of the two students accepted and a whole new chapter started for my career.

Challenges and hard decisions never end. After I received the scholarship from Berklee College of Music, I quit my job at the Istanbul Borusan Philharmonic and Istanbul Opera and Ballet. It was not an easy decision at all to get out of your comfort zone. But making music in the international arena, collaborating with top-notch musicians and projects was my passion so I decided to follow my dreams. Legendary Flutist Sir James Galway has a great influence on me while taking this decision too. He encouraged me to come to America and expand my horizons. He even arranged a sponsor for the first year to cover my living costs in America. I am always grateful.

Music and entertainment industry relies very heavily on networks and when I first came to America, I didn’t know anybody. That was my biggest challenge. It takes time to establish relationships. But to be resilient, patient, and hard work leads you on your journey.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a studio and remote recording artist, you can hear my flute and ethnic flutes on various featured films, video games, soundtracks, and shows streaming on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and other major streaming services. I have a selection of 65+ ethnic woodwind instruments (Indian Bansuris, Chinese flutes, Turkish Ney, Duduk, Zurna, Penny Whistles, Ocarinas, Shakuhachi, Recorders, and many more) that I use in my recordings and soundtracks. Within Netflix, some of the shows you can listen to include The Witcher, Das Boot, Romanoffs, The Angel, Final Fantasy game soundtrack, as well as the upcoming major show “One Piece”, the live version. My music can also be listened to at major international movies and shows streamed in Spain, Malaysia, Turkey, India, and Japan.

As an educator, I give masterclasses and teach students at various levels. I have a studio in Irvine where I do my remote recordings for projects all over the world. My fully equipped studio serves for any recording needs for auditions, projects, and albums.

How do you think about luck?
Luck is very important in one’s life. There are some times that I feel I was very lucky but there are more incidents that I feel I was very unlucky too. My biggest luck is meeting with wonderful human beings and establishing strong relationships. One of my biggest luck is to meet Jim Walker, the legendary Flutist, educator, and human being. We shared the stage with Jim Walker in a concert in Switzerland. I was in Boston at that time and was planning to move to Los Angeles. He very kindly offered to visit him, stay at his house, and explore the city before moving to LA. Since then our friendship, collaboration, and immense support have been my biggest luck. We were even neighbors for a long time before we moved to Irvine. So luck is important, and being at the right place at the right time is important but of course all efforts, hard work, and dedication is essential to create your own luck is important too.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.burakbesir.net
• Instagram: @burak.besir
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/burak.besir1
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/burakbesir
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6pcigdkzdMo7QzAokCHXgY

Image Credits
Some photos are taken by Aydin Tuna Palabiyikoglu