As part of this year’s Ohrid Summer festival, Bulgarian-born Turkish brother-and-sister duo Özcan Ulucan (violin) and Birsen Ulucan (piano) will give a concert at Ohrid’s St. Sophia church at 9 pm.

Birsen Ulucan was born in Shumen, Bulgaria and studied the piano from the age of seven. After her family moved to Turkey, she continued her education at the İstanbul State Conservatory.

On a fellowship from the Turkish Education Foundation and a grant by the Eczacıbaşı Culture and Art Foundation, she earned a Bachelor of Music degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in the UK. She also holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the City University in London.

She has played with leading international orchestras at renowned music festivals, sharing the stage with musicians like Marta Gulyas, Maxim Vengerov, Richard Rozsa, İsabelle van Keulen, and Fernando Peres, as well as with her violinist siblings Ayşen Ulucan and Özcan Ulucan.

In addition to performing as a recitalist and in chamber ensembles, Ulucan has taught at the İstanbul State Conservatory and gives piano lessons to children.

Özcan Ulucan (b. 1973, Shumen, Bulgaria) is a Turkish violin and viola player. He has studied in Bulgaria, Turkey, the UK, and Germany.

He has played with the English Chamber Orchestra, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, and London’s Philharmonia Orchestra at venues such as the Royal Albert Hall in London, Konzerthaus Berlin, Wels Festival, Ludwigsburg Festival, Budapest Spring Festival, and Amsterdam Concertgebouw.

He teaches violin and chamber music at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Conservatory in İstanbul.

The Ulucans have three album recordings released on the Istanbul’s Lila Müzik label.