Biography
Elif Canfezâ Gündüz was born on July 23, 1994, in Istanbul. Growing up in an artistic family, she was immersed in music from a young age. She began piano lessons with Zuleyha Bagirova, daughter of renowned composer Kara Karayev, and later entered the conservatory’s Instrumental Department under her encouragement. She attended masterclasses with artists such as Derya Türkan and Sokratis Sinopoulos through the Labyrinth Music program in Crete. After winning admission to Istanbul Technical University’s Turkish Music State Conservatory, she graduated from Neva Özgen’s kemençe class in 2018. That year, she received a success award in the “Young Instrumentalists Performance Competition” organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey.
She founded the ensembles Arfana, Şimdilik Trio, and Savt. Arfana’s Anatolian Jazz Impressions was released by Kalan Music, and Savt’s Birinci Hane by AK Music. She has contributed to numerous albums and given concerts and maqam seminars in countries including Greece, Italy, Denmark, South Korea, the Netherlands, Israel, Australia, Belgium, Norway, Germany, and the UK. She has performed with musicians such as Tcha Limberger, Fabrizio Cassol, and Magic Malik. In 2025, as the Elif Canfezâ Gündüz Quartet, she released an album of her compositions with jazz arrangements by Kaan Bıyıkoğlu. She currently serves as a kemençe artist with the Istanbul State Turkish Music Research and Application Ensemble.
