Defne Sahin Defne Sahin New York Born and raised in Berlin, the New York-based singer and composer Defne Sahin is rapidly developing an international reputation as a versatile and creative performer, who draws influences from time spent immersed in different countries and cultures. At a young age Defne has extended stays in Turkey, Spain, Brazil and the US under her belt, and is equally at home singing jazz, bossa nova, pop and Mediterranean traditional music. Her debut album "Yaşamak - to Live with the Words of Nâzım Hikmet" was released by Germany’s highly esteemed Jazz periodical, Jazz Thing Next Generation on Double Moon Records. The album was subsequently released in Turkey on the Kalan Müzik label, and has been lauded by the media as “…the beginning of a successful career.” Jazzthetik Defne already possesses extensive professional experience at clubs and festivals throughout Europe, Brazil, the United States and South Africa. Among her performances she counts concerts at Carnegie Hall New York, JazzFest Berlin and the jazzahead! in Bremen. She has received numerous awards as a singer, bandleader and composer, including the Studio Award of the Berlin Senate 2010 and the Elsa Neumann Scholarship. In 2011, she was invited to take part in Popcamp by the German Music Foundation. Defne’s previous mentors include David Friedman, Judy Niemack and Carme Canela, with whom she studied at the Universität der Künste, Berlin as well as the Escola Superior de Música, Barcelona. During her undergraduate studies, she was a fellow of the prestigious Heinrich Böll Foundation. She is currently pursuing her Master of Music majoring in Vocal Jazz Performance at the Manhattan School of Music, where she is studying with Theo Bleckmann, Gretchen Parlato, Phil Markowitz and Dave Liebman. Recently she was awarded a substantial scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service to facilitate her studies and to help further develop her international career.
