#22: Rising Star Conductor Nisan Ak Discusses Artistic Entitlement, Serendipity, Haters, Sexism & More

Instanbul-born Nisan Ak is en-route to becoming one of the top conductors in the world. Recently chosen as one of Forbes 30 Under 30, she has conducted concerts in Vienna at the Wiener Konzerthaus and Palais Eschenbach, as well as at music festivals in Pärnu, Vienna, Luzern, Istanbul, and the United States. Nisan is completing her PhD at the University of South Carolina and just celebrated her debut at the Smithsonian. She was also recently appointed as the music director of the Oratorio Society of Richmond-Virginia.  She began playing guitar at age nine, and then while studying at the Istanbul Fine Arts High School began to focus on piano and composition. From there she studied composition at the Istanbul Bilgi University and attended Conservatory of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. Next she completed her Master’s degree program in Orchestral Conducting at the Aaron Copland School of Music (CUNY). Her contemporary music repertoire includes composers such as Edgard Varèse, John Williams, Steve Reich, Aaron Copland, Erke Sven Tüür and George Perle. She has studied under famous contemporary conductors including Paavo Järvi, Neeme Järvi, Donald Portnoy, George Hurst, Tito Muñoz, and Gerard Schwartz. You can contact and follow her on Instagram under chillharmonic. Watch Nisan's YouTube Channel Visit Nisan on her website nisanak.com