Founded in 2004 by Begüm Gökmen, Golden Horn Brass is Türkiye's first and longest-standing brass quintet. This core team, which seems to harness the power of a giant orchestra in their strong arms and breaths, has been weaving music like golden fabric with the most delicate, fragile, crystalline tones through their mastery of their instruments since they came together.
The group, consisting of distinguished musicians specialized in both orchestra repertoire and education, presents an incredibly rich program at each of their concerts. Their meticulously prepared programs include Baroque and classical pieces, alongside unforgettable jazz and pop songs, as well as sophisticated arrangements of folk melodies.
Having motivated many Turkish composers with their commissioned works over the years, the quintet also contributes to the socialization of music with their long-standing "educational concerts," aiming to connect and nurture young audiences with music.
Selected as the "Chamber Music Group of the Year" at the Donizetti Classical Music Awards organized by Andante magazine in 2014, Golden Horn Brass represents our country superbly both in numerous domestic concerts and in many prestigious international events.
JULIAN LUPU (trumpet)
Born in Romania, Julian Lupu studied with Ioan Rusu at the George Enescu Academy. He graduated in solo trumpet and pedagogy. He participated in trumpet courses in Bayreuth and Constanța.
He has performed in concerts with renowned conductors like Serge Baudo, Alexander Dimitriev, Massimo Freccia, Jean Fournet, Howard Griffiths, Peter Gülke, Ernest Martinez Izquierdo, Karl Anton Rickenbacher, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Nello Santi, Emil Tabakov, Gürer Aykal, Yoel Levi, and Vladimir Ashkenazy. In October and November 2008, he played J. G. B. Neruda and A. Vivaldi concertos with Çukurova State Symphony and Bursa State Symphony. In 2009, he performed Shostakovich's Piano and Trumpet Concerto with Bilkent Symphony under Gürer Aykal.
He has given concerts in Naples, Florence, Parma, Palermo, Milan, Oradea, Iași, Arad, Cluj, Bucharest, Rennes, Paris, Marseille, Lausanne, Sion, Zurich, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Bamberg, Hanover, Ankara, İstanbul, Eskişehir, İzmir, Adana, Barcelona, Madrid, Murcia, Valencia, and Tokyo. He won awards at the Constanța National Performance Competitions in 1989, 1991, 1992, and in Bayreuth in 1990.
The artist, who has a wide repertoire, has recordings of Joseph Haydn, Wenzel Pichl, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Vivaldi, and Sergey Rachmaninoff.
Currently continuing as the solo trumpet and group leader of the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, Julian Lupu also serves as a lecturer at Bilkent University Faculty of Music and Performing Arts.
RENATO ALEXANDRU LUPU (trumpet)
Born into a family of musicians in Romania, he began learning piano at the age of 7. He moved to Turkey with his family in 2000 and soon started studying trumpet with his father, Julian Lupu. He was accepted into the Bilkent University Faculty of Music and Performing Arts Preparatory School in 2001 and participated in masterclasses with Alison Balsom and Gabor Bodolczki.
In April of the same year, he performed a concert with the Bilkent Youth Symphony Orchestra. In 2007, he played with the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, and in 2008, he performed alongside Julian Lupu with Çukurova State Symphony and Bursa State Symphony. Besides Bilkent Youth Symphony, he has also participated as a guest artist with Bilkent Symphony, Bursa State Symphony, Çukurova State Symphony, Antalya State Symphony, Anatolian Symphony, Hacettepe Academic Symphony Orchestras; as well as in the Turkish-Greek Youth Orchestra under Işın Metin and the National Youth Symphony Orchestra under Cem Mansur, going on tours. In 2010, he gave a concert with the “Brassissimo” quintet accompanied by the Bilkent Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Currently a graduate student, Renato Alexandru Lupu continues his trumpet studies with Julian Lupu. He continues his work with Bilkent Symphony, Ankara Youth Symphony, and Bilkent Youth Symphony Orchestras.
BEGÜM GÖKMEN (horn)
Begüm Gökmen, who began her horn studies at Bilkent University Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, graduated with high honors from Prof. Mahir Çakar's class. She participated in a horn symposium in Cloppenburg, Germany. In 1997, she won the auditions for the International Youth Symphony Orchestra in Bayreuth, Germany, playing with a scholarship for three consecutive times and had the opportunity to work with Christian Lampert. She also played in the Idyllwild Festival Orchestra in the USA, thanks to a scholarship provided by Larry Livingston, dean of the Music Department at the University of California and an orchestra conductor.
She participated in many workshops and youth orchestra camps abroad. She completed her master's degree at Mimar Sinan University with Cem Köse and her proficiency in arts degree with pianist Selen Bucak and recently received her Associate Professor title.
She has served in orchestras such as Akbank Chamber, Cemal Reşit Rey Symphony, İstanbul Philharmonic, Tekfen Philharmonic, National Reassurance, and Borusan Philharmonic. In 2004, she founded Türkiye's first long-standing brass group, Golden Horn Brass, making a pioneering achievement, and continues to perform as a founding member. In 2008, she was selected by Sonus Brass from Austria and participated in concerts in 5 cities in Austria.
Begüm Gökmen has been working at the Mimar Sinan University State Conservatory since 2004; she also organizes concerts to introduce brass wind instruments in elementary schools and various cities of Anatolia.
SİNAN ŞİRİN (tuba)
Born in İzmir in 1989, Sinan Şirin began studying euphonium and tuba in band schools in 2003. He entered the İstanbul University State Conservatory in 2013 and became a student of Yılmaz Alkan. He continued his studies in chamber music and tuba with Aycan Teztel at the same school and has been the permanent tubist of Golden Horn Brass since 2015.
EMRE BERBERGİL (trombone)
Born in Konya in 1987, Emre Berbergil received professional training in military bands between 2001 and 2010. He passed the exams of the İstanbul University State Conservatory and became a student of Murat Demiral. He later continued his studies with Aycan Teztel. During this period, he studied chamber music with Erden Bilgen, Gökay Gökşen, and Murat Demiral. He participated in masterclasses with Jacques Mauger, Yılmaz Alkan, Ahmet Yaldız, and Bedi Durham.
Continuing his chamber music work with the ModeArt Trombone Quartet, Agathon Brass, and İstanbul Trombone Quartet, Emre Berbergil has been a permanent member of the Golden Horn Brass group since 2014. He is also currently pursuing a master's degree at İstanbul University State Conservatory.
