Turkish clarinetist Ecesu Sertesen is Principal Solo Clarinetist of the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet Orchestra and a Global Brand Ambassador for Buffet Crampon. Born in 1987, she began her clarinet studies in 1998 at the Istanbul State Conservatory of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. Following a successful audition, she joined the orchestra in 2008 and has held the position ever since. A Buffet Crampon Artist in Türkiye since 2013, she maintains an active international career as a soloist and chamber musician.
 

At Fazıl Say’s invitation, Sertesen performed his Hayyam Clarinet Concerto, Op. 36, with the Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality Symphony Orchestra conducted by Naci Özgüç in 2012, earning wide acclaim. In 2014, she gave the Turkish premiere of Hasan Niyazi Tura’s Clarinet Concerto with the same orchestra conducted by Tolga Taviş. She later performed the concerto with the Hong Kong Festival Wind Orchestra in 2015 and gave a masterclass presented in collaboration with Tom Lee Music and Buffet Crampon. Returning to ClarinetFest as a headlining artist in 2025, she gave the United States premiere of İstemihan Taviloğlu’s Clarinet Concerto in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.

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As founder and a member of the Istanbul Wind Ensemble, Sertesen appears on the ensemble’s debut chamber music album, Turkish Composers, produced by Fazıl Say and released by Ada Müzik in 2018. That same year, she recorded Max Bruch’s Double Concerto for Clarinet and Viola, Op. 88, with violist Kyoungmin Park and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Howard Griffiths. The recording appears on Bruch: Double Concertos, Adagio appassionato & Loreley Overture, released worldwide by Sony Classical in 2019 with support from the Orpheum Foundation.
 

Sertesen’s jury appointments include the 2016 Buffet Crampon Clarinet Competition in Taiwan, where she also gave a recital and masterclass; the preliminary-round jury of the fifth International Jacques Lancelot Clarinet Competition in 2020; the 2023 FINALIS International Wind Instruments Competition in Białystok, followed by concerts and masterclasses at the Palace in Koszęcin; and the jury of the seventh International Jacques Lancelot Clarinet Competition in Rouen in 2025, where she also gave a masterclass and performed in the solo gala concert.

 

Her international appearances further include a 2017 recital at the Buffet Crampon New York Showroom; recurring solo concerts and masterclasses in the Czech Republic, including Domažlice, and in the Polish cities of Gdańsk, Kraków and Katowice; masterclasses for the 2021 Buffet Crampon USA Virtual Summer Academy; and a concert and masterclasses at the 2024 Buffet Crampon Summer Clarinet Academy in Florida.

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Sertesen opened the 11th European Clarinet Congress in 2022 with a solo concert. At the International Clarinet Association’s 50th-anniversary ClarinetFest in 2023, she appeared as a headlining soloist with the United States Air Force Academy Band and taught during the week at an event attended by nearly 2,000 participants. Her 2026 engagements included a residency at Domžale Music School in Slovenia, where she worked with teachers and students and presented a recital, and a music festival in Kalisz, Poland, featuring a concerto for five clarinets and a recital with piano.