Öykü Canpolat-Rast Professor at the HfMT Cologne
The Turkish violist and Eisler graduate Öykü Canpolat-Rast has been appointed viola professor at the Cologne University of Music and Dance for the summer semester 2025. She had previously held a professorship at the Stuttgart State University of Music and Performing Arts since 2023.
She studied at Hanns Eisler from 2013, initially in the Bachelor's programme with Prof. Pauline Sachse and Prof. Friedemann Weigle. From 2015, she completed her Master's degree with Prof. Tabea Zimmermann, graduating with top marks in 2019. At the same time, she was deputy principal viola of the Deutsche Oper Berlin orchestra from 2016. In 2020, she joined the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne as principal violist. As principal violist, she has played in other renowned orchestras such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, the WDR Symphony Orchestra and the MDR Symphony Orchestra, where she has worked with renowned conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Christian Thielemann, Kirill Petrenko, Andris Nelsons, Daniel Harding, Francois Xavier Roth, Herbert Blomstedt, Alain Altinoglu and Daniel Barenboim. She has also been a member of the Bayreuth Wagner Festival Orchestra since 2022, where she also plays as principal and deputy principal viola.
Öykü Canpolat-Rast is a prizewinner of the 7th International Syzmon Goldberg Competition in Meissen 2015, where she was awarded 1st prize and the audience prize. Her chamber music partners include artists such as Tabea Zimmermann, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Fazil Say, Vogler Quartet, Konstantin Heidrich, Boris Garlitsky and many more.