Who is Saygın Akbudak?

Saygın Akbudak

Born in 1983 in Aydın, Turkey, Saygın Akbudak completed his primary and secondary education in Aydın. His interest in music began during middle school; at the age of 15, his family bought him his first guitar, and this curiosity grew into regular practice and stage experience. In his first year of high school, he took to the stage for the first time with a group he formed with friends, playing guitar and singing. The following year, the group recorded a four-song demo of their own compositions, and he performed at various concerts and venues throughout his high school years.

After high school, he passed the conservatory entrance exam and began studying at the Ege University State Turkish Music Conservatory, Department of Basic Sciences. During this period he received training in piano and kabak kemane. From his second year onwards, he switched his principal instrument to the newly opened Clarinet programme and became a student of Tolga Akşit, studying under him for three years. He graduated as the first student to complete the Clarinet Principal Instrument programme at Ege University State Turkish Music Conservatory.

The following year, he was accepted into the Pedagogical Formation programme at Ege University, completing a non-thesis master's degree. Throughout his university years he performed at various venues and music associations in İzmir, playing clarinet and guitar and singing; he also gave private clarinet and guitar lessons.

After completing his military service, he moved from İzmir to Istanbul and continued his musical activities there. He gave private clarinet lessons at various music centres and performed with different orchestras, most notably on Süper FM and TRT Müzik projects. During the same period he worked as a music teacher at a private college. In 2013 he joined Hüsnü Arkan's orchestra as a clarinet player and backing vocalist.

Married with one daughter, Saygın Akbudak has been living in London since September 2020. Continuing his musical and educational work there, he provides online and in-person clarinet lessons to dozens of students — Turkish and international — from Turkey, Europe and many other countries around the world. He continues to perform with various projects, most notably the Hüsnü Arkan Orchestra, playing clarinet and saxophone, giving private lessons and working on composition.