Süeda Çatakoğlu is an accomplished vocalist, pianist, composer, and producer whose artistry seamlessly bridges the modal richness of Turkish music with the improvisational language of jazz and the theatrical elegance of cabaret. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, where she specialized in Jazz Composition, Contemporary Writing, and Production, her technical foundation is supported by prestigious honors such as the Emanuel Zambelli Concert Pianist scholarship and top prizes at the International Pera Piano Competition. Her career is marked by high-profile performances at world-class venues, including a solo recital at Berlin’s Pierre Boulez Saal and appearances at the Berklee Performance Center, reflecting a deep respect for heritage combined with a bold, contemporary vision.

As a recording artist, Süeda has cultivated a distinctive "artistic voice" that is at once intimate and internationally resonant. Following her debut album, Süeda Sings Sezen, and her single Chiron, she is now preparing to release her next album of original music, further exploring the intersection.

Süeda has received degrees and special awards in competitions such as the International Pera Piano Competition, Izmir Saygun Piano Competition, 2nd Hacettepe National Piano Competition. She participated in masterclasses conducted by Turkish State Artist İdil Biret at Ayvalık International Music Academy (AIMA). She has shared a stage with Idil Biret at Alibey Cultural Center on Cunda Island. She studied jazz, arranging, improvization, jazz theory and harmony, composition and songwriting lessons with jazz vibraphonist Oli Bott. Since 2018, she has studied Balkan songs, French chansons with Paula Turcas, the soloist of the ZMEI3. Her solo graduation recital at the Pierre Boulez Saal, one of Europe's leading concert halls, attracted the attention of music authorities in Berlin and was praised in the German press.

She was awarded a scholarship from the Academy of Music in New York to study musical theatre for two years. In the same period, she was accepted with a full scholarship from Berklee College of Music in Boston for the Professional Diploma program, which is a graduate program where she can study in different fields such as Jazz Composition – Modern Composition and Music Production. In the 2022-2023 academic year, she received a scholarship from this institution within the scope of Eczacıbaşı Music Scholarships. In Spring 2022, she performed a solo piano recital at David Friend Hall as part of the KeysFest Piano Festival organized by Berklee College of Music and was awarded the Emanuel Zambelli Concert Pianist scholarship.

She was accepted as a member of one of Boston's most respected urban theaters founded by MIT University, Central Square Theater's Ambassador Ensemble. She performed Mülteci Kaldım with an international group of musicians at a political activism and fundraising concert at the Berklee Performance Center.

ARTHUR SIMOES

Melodica & Piano

Arthur Simoes is a pianist with a multifaceted career as a performer, composer, and educator. His music draws from an eclectic mix of genres, including jazz, classical, video game music, and his Brazilian heritage. He has performed extensively across Europe, Latin America, and the United States, and frequently presents lectures, workshops, and masterclasses worldwide.

Passionate about education, Arthur has maintained a successful private studio for over a decade. He believes that everyone has an innate ability to learn music and integrates elements of Dalcroze Eurhythmics and the Taubman Approach into his teaching. In addition to his studio, he currently teaches Dalcroze at the New England Conservatory in Boston and has served on the faculties of the Haute École de Musique and the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze in Geneva. He has also been a guest teacher at numerous events and institutions, including the Dalcroze International Congress (Switzerland), Encontro Internacional sobre Pedagogia do Piano (Brazil), Longy School of Music, (USA), Kunitachi College of Music (Japan), and NEOJIBA (Brazil).

Arthur is the first prize winner of the 29th European Music Competition "Città di Moncalieri" in Italy, among other piano competitions. He has performed at renowned venues and festivals around the world, including Victoria Hall (Geneva), La Schubertiade sur la Colline (Neuchâtel), and the Berklee Performance Center (Boston).

He studied at Berklee College of Music (Diploma in Jazz Composition and Performance) and holds a Bachelor’s in Piano and a Master’s in Music Pedagogy with a concentration in Dalcroze Eurhythmics. He also earned the Diplôme Supérieur of the Dalcroze method. During his studies, he received several awards, including the Institut-Jaques Dalcroze Award “for his qualities as eurhythmician,” the Emile Jaques-Dalcroze Foundation Award “for the excellence of his improvisation exam,” the Aletheia Foundation Award “for the excellence of his Diplôme Supérieur choreography,” and the Arditi Award for best final recital of the year at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève. In parallel, he pursued extensive studies of the Taubman Approach with his mentor Edna Golandsky in New York, and is a certified Taubman Instructor by the Golandsky Institute.

Now based in Boston, Arthur continues to perform, compose, and teach. In his free time, he enjoys learning about different cultures and studying foreign languages. He speaks French, Portuguese, English, Spanish, Italian, and German at varying levels of fluency and is currently studying Japanese.