Duygu Ince (violin) and Berx Koçkaya (guitar) first met during their undergraduate studies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. They formed the duo upon graduating and continued their studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. 

Whilst at Guildhall they were coached by Robert Brightmore, Jørgen Skogmo, Graham Devine and Jacqueline Ross. They have given concerts at prestigious venues such as St John’s Smith Square, St Martin in the Fields and Kings Place as part of the International Guitar Foundation’s ASPIRE Stage. With a keen interest in contemporary music, the duo work in collaboration with a range of composers with the intent to broaden the existing repertoire for guitar and violin; they premiered ‘A pale blue dot’ which was dedicated to them by Italian composer, Sabino de Bari, and commissioned a new work inspired by the oceans and marine life by Ryan Probert. Aside from performing, the duo also take part in education and outreach activities by delivering workshops to schools in London. 

Berx Koçkaya - Guitar

Berx Koçkaya began his musical training in London, where he studied classical guitar at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. After graduating from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where he was awarded 1st Prize in the Birmingham Guitar Prize amongst other awards, he continued his studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, with a master’s in Music and Performance. Throughout his studies, Berx has taken part in masterclasses with renowned musicians, such as, David Russell, Xuefei Yang, Marcin Dylla and Matteo Mela.

Duygu Ince - Violin

Duygu Ince started the violin at the age of eight at the Istanbul State Conservatoire and studied with Bahar Biricik. After graduating in 2011, she was offered a place at the Birmingham Conservatoire to study with Nathaniel Vallois. Duygu has been involved in many orchestral and chamber activities throughout her undergraduate study such as City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Youth Orchestra, Welsh National Opera, and leading Birmingham Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra numerous times. During her years at the Conservatoire, Duygu won awards such as Meher Rohi Gazder Scholarship, McQueen Bursary, and Bernard Statman Memorial Prize. She has performed in leading venues such as; Wigmore Hall, St John Smith Square, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Birmingham Town Hall, Barbican Hall, Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain). She recently performed in China Modern Music Festival (Beijing and Tianjin) with Thallein Orchestra as a leader. Duygu graduated from Birmingham Conservatoire with a First-Class Degree and obtained a Master’s Degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Prof. Jacqueline Ross. During her studies in Guildhall, Duygu took part in collaborations with the London Symphony Orchestra and worked with prestigious conductors such as; Sir Simon Rattle, Essa-Pekka Salonen to name a few.