Two violin students at the Bilkent University Music Preparatory School were the recipients of first and second place awards at the sixth annual International Josef Micka Violin Competition, held in Prague. Also, a seventh-year violin student in the Bilkent Music Preparatory School, won “Antonio Salieri” first prize.
Defne Güngör won first prize in Category 2; İdil Arıcan won second prize in Category 5. As in most music competitions for students, the categories were based on the ages of the performers; Category 2 was for violinists up to 10 years of age, born in 2008 or after, while Category 5 included competitors up to 16 years of age, born in 2002 or after.
Defne, who is currently in third grade, began her musical life at the age of four and a half, playing the piano. In 2015 she entered the Bilkent Music Preparatory School as a student of Vseslava Kudinova. After the Micka competition, Defne performed live, together with the other winning violinists, on Cezhia Radio; her first-place award includes the opportunity to participate in a Dora Schwarzberg Academy master class in Vienna.
İdil, who is currently in ninth grade, entered the Bilkent Music Preparatory School in 2010 and is studying with Süreyya Defne. In 2017, she was a soloist at the Çeşme International Classical Music Festival. İdil also performed in the premiere of Fazıl Say’s “Yürüyen Köşk,” which took place on November 10 of the same year.
Arcan İsenkul, a seventh-year violin student in the Bilkent Music Preparatory School, won “Antonio Salieri” first prize at the 9th International Young Musicians Competition held in Italy. Arcan İsenkul continues his studies with Ece Akyol.