Meet the Artistic Directors
The Pererinion Ysbrydol Festival Academy was founded by Deniz Cengiz and Ezo Sarici to create a space where musicians can grow, connect, and share their artistry. Rooted in collaboration and community, the festival brings together performers and audiences in an inspiring setting dedicated to music and exchange.
Born in 2003, pianist Deniz Cengiz is establishing herself as one of the most versatile and compelling voices of her generation, with a career that bridges solo performance, chamber music, and visionary artistic leadership.
Her early training at the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts State Conservatoire in Istanbul led to a full scholarship to the Purcell School of Music in London at the age of 14, where she studied with Tessa Nicholson, William Fong, and Aaron Shorr. She now continues her studies in Leipzig at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” under Markus Tomas and Boris Kusnezow.
Cengiz has earned recognition at international competitions including Milan–Piano Talents, the International Bursa Nilüfer Piano Competition, and the Paris International Piano Competition. She has performed concertos with the Trakya Chamber Orchestra and Fortismere Community Orchestra, and her recital career has included debuts at Wigmore Hall, Duke’s Hall, and the Austrian Consulate in Istanbul. A frequent performer of Schumann, she is particularly noted for the depth and imagination of her interpretations of his works. Her artistry has also been shaped by masterclasses with Philippe Raskin, Jonathan Plowright, and Martin Helmchen.
Chamber music is a defining element of Cengiz’s career. With violinist Ezo Sarıcı, she forms Duo Ekeš, an ensemble praised for its imaginative programming and commitment to amplifying underrepresented voices, particularly Turkish composers and overlooked 20th-century works. Their international profile includes appearances at Wigmore Hall, Gregynog Hall in Wales, and the Austrian Consulate in Istanbul, alongside finalist recognition at the 22nd Kiejstut Bacewicz International Chamber Music Competition in Poland.
In 2025, she co-founded the Pererinion Ysbrydol Festival Academy (PYFA) at Gregynog Hall, Wales. Conceived as more than a festival, PYFA is an academy and cultural platform that brings together young musicians from across the world to explore chamber music in its artistic, historical, and social dimensions. The inaugural edition drew an international cohort of students and a distinguished faculty including Milena Simovic, David Cohen, and Boris Kusnezow. Alongside intensive coaching and performance opportunities, the festival foregrounded questions of accessibility, diversity, and inclusivity, establishing PYFA as a bold new space for chamber music dialogue, mentorship, and exchange. The project reflects Cengiz’s commitment not only to performance at the highest level but also to shaping the future culture of classical music.
The 2025/26 season sees Cengiz build on her recent successes with a return to the Austrian Consulate in Istanbul, her Austrian debut, and a number of recital and chamber music engagements across the UK and continental Europe. Alongside these appearances, she is also developing new collaborations with contemporary composers and continuing to expand her presence at international festivals.
Deniz Cengiz
A graduate of the Yehudi Menuhin School, London-born British-Turkish violinist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and artistic director Ezo Sarici is developing as one of her generation’s leading performers and composers across solo, chamber music, and jazz and folk-inflected projects as a bandleader.
She has taken the stage internationally across Europe with appearances in Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and Turkey, to name a few. Her passion for solo performance and cross-genre work has featured appearances at the Southbank Centre, London Jazz Festival, Aberystwyth Festival, Ronnie Scott’s, and Buckingham Palace, and most recently the premiere of her piece Göçebe Prenses at the Barbican Centre, performed by the esteemed Her Ensemble and Friends with Jess Gillam and Laura van der Heijden, which was also broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Having recently graduated with Distinction from the Royal Academy of Music, Ezo was fortunate to be supported by the Countess of Munster Trust, the Harrison-Frank Family Foundation, and the Leverhulme Scholarship. During her studies, she was also a prizewinner at several competitions, including the Lipizer International Violin Competition, Bromsgrove International Competition, Josef Micka International Competition, and First Prize in the Royal Academy of Music Strings and Piano Duo Prize. She was also a Southbank Young Artist during the 2023/24 season, in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Music and Manchester Collective.
Ezo’s passion for chamber music has resulted in partnerships with Roman Simović, Milena Simović, David Cohen, Max Baillie, Boris Kusnezow, and Andrey Gugnin, among many others. She is a founding member of Trio Arisonto, who have been playing together since 2021. Comprised of horn player Annemarie Federle and pianist Harry Rylance, the trio were prize winners of the 2023 Tunnell Trust Award, resulting in a six-concert tour across Scotland in 2024. They continue to perform throughout the UK, with the 2025/26 season featuring new arrangements and debut performances in Leeds, Wales, and Walton-on-Thames.
The summer of 2025 saw the launch of the Pererinion Ysbrydol Festival Academy (PYFA) in Wales, co-founded and directed by Ezo alongside her duo partner Deniz Cengiz. Set in the historic Gregynog Hall, the festival brought together world-class faculty including Roman Simovic, Milena Simovic, David Cohen, and Boris Kusnezow, offering a vibrant new space for students from all over the world to explore chamber music traditions, history, and accessibility. Alongside their work as Artistic Directors, Ezo and Deniz also perform as Duo Ekeš, with concert tours across the UK and Turkey, upcoming debuts in Italy and Austria, and a recent success as finalists at the prestigious 22nd Kiejstut Bacewicz International Chamber Music Competition in Poland.
Ezo’s instrumental versatility has opened doors to unique opportunities, including being invited as guest principal viola with the Ulster Orchestra at just 20 years old, and performing her own compositions on oud, guitar, and piano in major venues such as the Southbank Centre.
