Biography

Former Associate Concertmaster of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO), Sercan was born in Türkiye, but has called Australia home for most of his life. He began studying the violin at the age four with Selahattin Yunkus at the Istanbul State Conservatory, and by his eighth birthday, was the recipient of the first prize at the 1995 National Rotary Competition Young Musician of the Year.

A graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, his teachers have included the late Alice Waten, Goetz Richter and Wanda Wilkomirska. During his studies at the Sydney Conservatorium, Sercan was awarded a full scholarship for ‘the most outstanding result at the highest level in any Conservatorium year’ and was a featured artist in ENCORE 05 at the Sydney Opera House.

Sercan has participated in various international festivals, including the Summit Music Festival in New York, the Euro Music Festival in Leipzig, and has performed in masterclasses with the late Aaron Rosand, Arnold Steinhardt, Kolja Blacher, Alex Kerr, Walter Verdehr, Roberto Diaz, Chee- Yun Kim, Timothy Ying, Ivo van der Werff and Andres Diaz.

In 2011, he received a Bachelor of Music Performance with a full artistic scholarship from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas (USA) and completed his Performance Diploma in 2013 under the tutelage of the late Emanuel Borok, former Concertmaster of the Moscow Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

A keen chamber musician, Sercan is a founding member of the award-winning Altius Quartet. He was active with the ensemble between 2011 - 2014, and was the recipient of the Silver Medal Prize at the 2014 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (USA), the 1st Prize at the 2013 Plowman Chamber Music Competition and the 1st Prize at the 2014 Coltman Chamber Music Competition.

Sercan has performed in masterclasses with the Takacs, Guarneri, Shanghai, Borodin, Miro, and Artemis String Quartets. He was later invited to study with the Takacs Quartet but pursued an orchestral career, and has had the privilege to be a member of multiple renowned orchestras. While in the United States, he held the position of Assistant Concertmaster with the Irving Symphony, and was a substitute member with the Atlanta and Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

In 2017, Sercan returned to Australia, and performed as a first violinist in the SSO until the end of the 2019 season, and later moved to Hobart to assume the role of Associate Concertmaster with the TSO. In 2021, he was invited to perform with the Australian World Orchestra on their national tour.

Sercan returned to Sydney in 2022 and has performed with the Sydney Symphony since the reopening of the Opera House Concert Hall.

Affectionately known as Serg, he was made a permanent member of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's First Violins in 2024.