Hayat Köprüce Mertel

Hayat Köprüce Mertel was born in Istanbul in 1976. Her talent in music was recognized from an early age in school choirs and performances. She graduated from Istanbul University Turkish Music Faculty. She had the opportunity to study with eminent teachers like Süheyla Altmışdört, Fatih Şalgar, and İsmail Hakkı Özkan. Köprüce gave concerts with The Choir of İstanbul University. She majored in voice training faculty at Istanbul Technical University. She also studied with distinguished artists, who contributed significantly to Turkish music, such as Prof. Dr. Selahattin İçli,  Prof. Dr. Alattin Yavaşça, Tülin Korman, and Erol Uras. Köprüce took teacher training classes at her university from 2001 to 2009, and studied at the Orff Schulwerk Education and Consulting Center, which enabled her to work as a music teacher in various kindergarten and elementary schools. She continues taking voice training lessons from Nilgün Onat, who is a lecturer at Haliç University, School of Music Faculty. Köprüce is interested in world music and continues to extend her repertoire.

Reference: bostonturkishfilmfestival.org