Deniz Toygur was born in Ankara in 1988. She started her musical life with Feruza Abdullaeva in the Bilkent University School of Music and Performing Arts in 1999, and throughout the years has performed numerous recitals as well as solo performances with a number of orchestras in Turkey. During her education, she has participated in master classes of Vanya Milanova, Mintcho Mintchev, Vesselin Paraschkevov, and Alexander Markov. Deniz graduated from Bilkent University School of Music and Performing Arts in 2008 with highest honors. In Turkey she was a first violinist of the Bilkent Youth Quartet and a concertmaster of the Bilkent Youth Symphony Orchestra. She joined World Youth Symphony Orchestra in the summer 2007 as one of the concertmasters, and in the winter was invited to the World Youth Chamber Orchestra.
First Prize winner in the “Pancho Vladigerov 6th International Competition of German and Austrian Music” in Bulgaria, Deniz also received a special award for her performance of German composer Jeannot Heinen’s “Concert Partita.” In October 2006, in the “2nd National Gulden Turali Violin Competition,” Mersin, she received second place in adult category.
Deniz and her partner, pianist Cihan Yucel, participated in the “Violin & Piano Masterclass” of Pierre Amoyal and Bruno Canino in Academie de Musique de Lausanne, Switzerland, and she was invited to continue her studies there. In 2008 Deniz was selected to take part in the iPalpiti Festival of International Laureates in Los Angeles, and also performed with iPalpiti in Switzerland.
Deniz plays an Italian violin c. 1936, made by Emmanuel Egildo. The violin was given to her as a present by an impressed patron from Switzerland after her performance in the Academy of Lausanne.
