Oray Yay

Oray Yay was born in Edirne in 1987. At the age of 16, he was admitted to Haliç University Conservatory through his own efforts. During his conservatory years, he studied with many distinguished teachers, including Alaeddin Yavaşca, Mutlu Torun, Çetin Körükçü, and Yalçın Çetinkaya. While at the conservatory, he participated in various Classical Turkish Music and Turkish Folk Music concerts. After completing his undergraduate degree, he submitted his master's thesis titled "The Percussion Instruments Used Throughout the Historical Process in Turkish Music and Their Application Areas" at the same university. In 2007, he joined the group İstanbul Sazendeleri, which included virtuosos such as Göksel Baktagir, Yurdal Tokcan, and Baki Kemancı. That same year, he became a student of the famous darbuka virtuoso Misirli Ahmet, with whom he performed in various concerts for four years through Misirli Ahmet Galataritimhanesi. In 2009, he became part of Mercan Dede’s Secret Tribe. In the following years, he met the Yarkın Ritim Grubu, becoming a student of Ferruh Yarkın and Fahrettin Yarkın. Between 2011 and 2018, he served as a guest artist in the Istanbul State Turkish Music Ensemble under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. From 2018 to 2020, he was part of Istanbul University's performance ensemble. He also performed as one of the solo instrumentalists of the Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra’s Three Seas Sound Project, which brought together musicians from 23 countries. In 2021, he passed the artist recruitment exam of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and was appointed as a percussionist to the Istanbul Sufi Ceremonies Ensemble (İstanbul Meydan Meşkleri Topluluğu). 💿 Selected Album Appearances: Hayal Gibi 3 – Göksel Baktagir (2008) Benhur Live – Stewart Copeland (2009) Duygu Pınarı 2 – Göksel Baktagir & Pınar Köksal (2010) Notte Della Taranta – Ludovico Einaudi (2010) Sen – Selim Güler (2011) Dünya – Mercan Dede (2013) Hayal Gibi Ezgiler – Göksel Baktagir (2013) Seslerin Sırrı – Yurdal Tokcan (2014) Aşina – Aylin Şengün Taşçı (2014) Ghazl El Banat – Lena Chamamyan (2015) Two Side of Europe – Asgeir Asgeirsson (2017) Ermeni Bestekârlar – Istanbul State Turkish Music Ensemble (2015) Gelenekten Geleceğe 30. Yıl – Istanbul State Turkish Music Ensemble (2018) Mihr – Halili Bros (2019) 🎵 Notable Concerts: With İstanbul Sazendeleri: North Macedonia, Estonia, Greece, Switzerland, Brussels, Germany, Iraq, Luxembourg, Chile, China (Expo 2010), Turkish Cultural Year Events in China (2013), and many cities across Turkey. With Mercan Dede Secret Tribe: Switzerland, France, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Portugal, Germany, India, the Netherlands, and Australia (Sydney Opera House). Others: Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra – 60th Anniversary Special Concert Ludovico Einaudi – Notte Della Taranta Italy Tour Burcu Karadağ Ensemble – Belgium Europalia Festival Taraf de Haidouks – Italy Aylin Şengün Taşçı – Egypt, Uganda, Nepal