Selcuk Suna

Biography

Selcuk Suna was born in Istanbul in 1981, into a family of musicians: his father is a professor of traditional Turkish music at Istanbul University, his brother a violinist and songwriter. At eight, he sang in a children's opera at the Atatürk Cultural Centre; the clarinet came at eleven, the saxophone at seventeen — and by eighteen, he was performing on television and alongside Turkey's biggest pop voices.

Trained at the Istanbul Conservatory, he earned a full scholarship in Jazz Performance (saxophone) at Bilgi University, studying with Ricky Ford and Butch Morris. For thirteen years, he was one of the musicians of the Beyaz Show, the Friday-night talk show; he has shared the stage with Shakira, Ajda Pekkan, Kayahan and Mustafa Ceceli, and recorded countless albums, television themes, musicals and theatre compositions.

Now based in Toronto, he works as an independent musician: two albums — Turkish Standards / Non-standard and The Space Between — and collaborations across Canada with Moneka Arabic Jazz, Fethi Nadjem and Meltemi. He is a member of KUNÉ — Canada's Global Orchestra, the ensemble of newcomer musicians created in 2016 at Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music, where he sings and plays clarinet and tenor saxophone.

Behind the scenes, Selcuk Suna is also an organizer: with Asli Suna, he co-organizes Concerts on Connolly, the summer series of ProArts Hub (a non-profit organization) — three to four Canadian tours and major events each year, in collaboration with Sunfest, Uma Nota Culture, Lula World and Drom Taberna. In 2026, he is a delegate of the International Presenters Network of Sunfest.

Milestones

• 1981 — born in Istanbul, into a family of musicians
• Bilgi University (Istanbul) — Jazz Performance degree, full scholarship
• 13 years — musician on the Beyaz Show, Turkey's weekly talk show
• Albums — Turkish Standards / Non-standard; The Space Between
• Since 2016 — member of KUNÉ, Canada's Global Orchestra (Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto)
• 2026 — delegate of Sunfest's International Presenters Network; co-organizer of Concerts on Connolly (ProArts Hub)

Discography

• Turkish Standards / Non-standard — Turkish standards re-read on saxophone
• The Space Between — his Toronto-period album
• With KUNÉ — two orchestra albums in ten years (KUNÉ's official website)

On festival stages

• Sunfest 2026 — London, Canada (delegate of the International Presenters Network)
• KUNÉ — Koerner Hall, Toronto, 20 February 2027 (the orchestra's 10th anniversary)
• Tirgan Festival 2023 — Toronto
• The Rex — Toronto (Global Jazz Sundays)

See also

• Ana Lía — artist, 2026 IPN delegate
• Sunfest — the festival and its IPN network
• Asli Suna — professional (Concerts on Connolly)