Melis Çom

Melis Çom is an award-winning Turkish harpist celebrated for  her versatility across classical, contemporary, and experimental music. In 2022, she was awarded the prestigious DAAD Prize for New Music in recognition of her innovative exploration of extended techniques and sound possibilities on the harp. A finalist in the Concours International de Harpe Jeunes Talents Martine Geliot (Paris, 2013), she has also collaborated with leading ensembles including the National Youth Symphony Orchestra of Turkey, under the baton of Cem Mansur, and the National Youth Symphony Orchestra (2011–2012), performing in renowned venues across Europe.

Born in Mersin, Turkey, Melis began studying the harp in 2004. In 2010, she moved to Istanbul to continue her musical education at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University State Conservatory, and in 2012–2013, she studied in Paris through the Erasmus Programme at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Boulogne-Billancourt, where she deepened her technique and musical expression within the French harp tradition.

After a decade in Istanbul, performing with various orchestras, developing her interdisciplinary project ArplıYoga, and teaching harp at L’École Francophone de Musique d’Istanbul, Melis continues to carve out a distinctive artistic path blending classical tradition with modern experimentation.

In 2019, she moved to Munich to pursue advanced studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, where she completed both her Master’s in Harp Performance under Cristina Bianchi and her second Master’s in New Music, graduating with the highest distinction in both programs. Her studies were supported by scholarships from the Eczacıbaşı Foundation in 2020 and 2021. That same period, she successfully passed the auditions for the Pan Caucasian Youth Orchestra and the Baltic Sea Philharmonic, and was selected to take part in their programs. In 2020, she also performed a series of contemporary works with the Oktopus Ensemble at the Venice Biennale, engaging deeply with the New Music repertoire.

Her current project, the Harp O’Clock Concert Series, explores the intersection of harp, electronics, improvisation, and diverse chamber formations. Within this series, she performs solo and in ensembles such as Duo Duende (with percussionist Flurin Mück), appearing in venues including Volkstheater München, Kurhaus Bad Tölz, Kammerspiele München, as well as in Norway and St. Moritz (CH). She also performs regularly with the Münchner Symphoniker, shaping a career that bridges the timeless and the avant-garde.