Born in 1996, Deniz Ayse Birdal attends the Leopold-Mozart-Institut for highly talented music students at Mozarteum University Salzburg. Additionally, she studies with Prof. Jérôme Pernoo from Paris Conservatory. Having been playing the cello for only five years now, she has already been awarded a first prize at „Rudolf Matz“ Strings Competition as well as a third prize at Liezen Cello Competition.

Deniz Ayse entered the Leopold Mozart Institut for Highly Talented Children in Salzburg with the unanimous decision of a jury including Enrico Bronzi, Clemens Hagen, Andreas Weber and Igor Ozim. She has been chosen as one of three students to the "Junior Academy for Highly Talented Youth" of Leopold Mozart Zentrum in Augsburg, where she got a lot of imput from outstanding musicians like Prof. Julius Berger, Hyun-Jung Berger, Nicolas Altstaedt and José Gallardo. She has also been chosen as one of five cellists for the Gstaad String Academy in August 2013 to the class of Prof. Ivan Monighetti with full scholarship.

Performances brought Deniz Ayse to France, Chile, Germany, Austria and Turkey. She also played at renowned festivals such as ISA Music Festival in Vienna, Vladimir Spivakov Festival in Moscow as well as at Euro Music Festival in Cologne. In April 2013 she performed at the 22nd International Kaunas Festival for Young Musicians in Lithuania, where she gave a solo recital and a concert with Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra. Contemporary composer Mario Alfagüell was impressed by Ayse´s performance and decided to compose a Cello Concerto dedicated to her.

October 2013