The 48-year-old concertmaster of the Izmir State Symphony Orchestra died following a brain haemorrhage
The death has been announced of Deniz Özasker, Turkish violinist and concertmaster of the Izmir State Symphony, at the age of 48. According to a report by the Turkish arts publication, Milliyet Sanat, Özasker suffered a brain haemorrhage on 19 January and was being treated for a blockage of blood vessels at the Dokuz Eylül University Research and Application Hospital. A call-out was made for platelet donations but, despite a rally across social media, the violinist subsequently died on 24 January.
Özasker was born in Ankara in 1978 and began learning the violin at the age of nine. Her father, Ancan Özasker, was a cellist in the Presidential Symphony Orchestra in Turkey. Özasker studied at the Ankara State Conservatory with teachers including Cengiz Özkök and Victor Pikaizen.
A ceremony was held for Özasker at the Izmir Ahmet Adnan Saygun Art Center on 26 January, featuring a slideshow of the violinist’s concert footage, and she was buried at the Örnekköy Cemetery.
The Izmir State Symphony paid tribute to its concertmaster on social media:
‘We are deeply saddened by the loss of Deniz Özasker, one of the most valuable violinists our country has produced, and the principal violinist of the Izmir State Symphony Orchestra.
‘As the Izmir State Symphony Orchestra family, we offer our deepest condolences and prayers for strength to her family, all her loved ones, and the entire art community. May she rest in peace.’
No comments yet