The first melodies
An intuitive beginning shaped by close listening, imitation and curiosity.
A distinct concert voice.
Şükrü Kirtiş is a Netherlands-based ney player working in Ottoman and Turkish classical music, chamber music, opera and contemporary concert productions.
NetherlandsBorn & based
NeyPerformance & collaboration
3 languagesDutch · English · Turkish
Born and raised in Amsterdam, with family roots in Konya, Şükrü Kirtiş encountered the ney at a young age. He first learned by listening and imitating melodies, gradually developing his technique through independent practice and later instruction.
The instrument became a constant presence: a way of exploring Turkish and Ottoman musical traditions while finding a personal voice within them. Over time, that private practice developed into a professional path on concert stages and in collaborative projects.
Today, Şükrü’s work is guided by a question that goes beyond technique: what can the voice of the ney communicate to a contemporary audience? His performances bring tradition into new contexts while preserving the instrument’s distinctive character.
Finding a voice
Years of developing breath, sound and an understanding of Turkish Makam.
Performing
From makam-based repertoire to chamber music, opera and large-scale public productions.
Creating dialogue
Projects in which the ney connects musical histories, people and contemporary audiences.
Present work
Performance across musical settings
Şükrü is the ney player in BarokOpera Amsterdam’s regular production of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail, performing newly composed Turkish music by Selim Doğru alongside Mozart’s score.
He appeared as a guest ney player in the Netherlands Wind Ensemble’s Dag van de Vrede, joined three Belgian performances of OSArt’s Rumi Passion in 2025, and performed with reART and young wind and string players in the official pre-concert programme of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s 2025 Opening Night.
He appears on Mehmet Polat’s 2023 track Four Phases. As co-founder and ney player of HarmonEast Ensemble, he develops projects that place Western European and Ottoman court traditions in musical and historical dialogue.
Alongside this work, he is developing a solo performance combining live ney with spoken narrative.
Selected work
BarokOpera Amsterdam
Ney player in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail.
Netherlands Wind Ensemble
Guest ney player in Dag van de Vrede at Podium Mozaïek, Bijlmer Parktheater and Tolhuistuin.
Rumi Passion
Three OSArt performances in Belgium in 2025: Concertgebouw Brugge, CC MUZE and CC De Steiger.