Rising Stars: Meet Doruk Liman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Doruk Liman.

Hi Doruk, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My musical journey began when I was 10 years old, when my dad introduced me to the guitar as a hobby. He also played guitar and sang as a hobby. By the age of 12, I had begun to realize that I wanted music to become more than just a hobby. I wanted to become a professional musician, so I started spending as much time as possible practicing guitar and learning more about music.
At 13, I began studying with Rasih Öztürk, focusing on guitar, harmony, and ear training. This work changed the way I understood music and helped me develop a much deeper perspective.
In 2026, I took part in the Nardis Young Jazz Musician Competition. It was my first public performance and an important turning point in my musical journey. Most importantly, it gave me the opportunity to meet and play with musicians from Istanbul’s jazz scene, leading to further performance opportunities.
That same year, I attended Berklee College of Music’s Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive in Boston with an Aspire Scholarship. It was one of the most valuable experiences I have had as a musician. I had the chance to play with many different musicians.
After returning to Istanbul, I was invited to perform with my trio at Istanbul Guitar Days, organized by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. This was another important experience, and shortly afterward, I also had the opportunity to perform at the Akbank Jazz Festival.
These experiences have motivated me even more to continue developing as a musician. I want to keep improving my guitar playing, harmony, ear training, and understanding of jazz while performing as much as possible and looking for new opportunities to learn and play with other musicians.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not always been a smooth road, especially because of my age. For a long time, I found it difficult to meet people around my age who shared the same passion for music and were at a similar level so it was difficult to find people I could really talk about music or play together.

School was another challenge. There were no middle or high schools around me that offered the kind of musical education I was looking for. So I continued studying at regular schools while developing my musical life outside of school on my own.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a 15-year-old musician and guitarist based in Istanbul, and I mainly focus on jazz. I currently play gigs at local jazz venues, festivals, and other music events. My main goal for the future is to study jazz composition, write and perform my own music, play with different musicians around the world, and become a part of the global jazz scene

What I am most proud of is how far I have come as a musician at a young age. I have had the opportunity to perform and share the stage with great musicians, and being recognized and appreciated by musicians I respect has shown me that my hard work is paying off. At the same time, seeing how much more there is to learn keeps me motivated to improve, develop my own sound, and continue growing as a musician.

What I believe sets me apart from other musicians is what I look for in music. I am not interested in making music just to show off or impress people. What I really look for is music that is touching, tasteful, and honest music that creates a feeling and stays with the listener. The musicians I admire most are the ones who can do this, and that is what I want to achieve with my own music.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Likes: Jazz, discovering new music, playing live, composing, meeting and playing with new musicians, concerts and spending time with friends.
Dislikes: Showing off to much, unnecessary competition and people who don’t listen to each other, jealousy

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dorukliman.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doruk_liman/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@doruk_liman
• Other: https://bizimcaz.com/musician/DorukLiman

Image Credits
Burak Gunbal