Meir Gassenbauer

Hello there :)                                                                                                                                    I am a Ney specialist, performer, and educator with deep roots in Ottoman, Anatolian, Turkish, and broader Middle Eastern musical traditions. I offers a creative, student-centered approach that welcomes Ney players as well as musicians from other instruments who want to explore modal music more deeply, developing technique, tone, phrasing, improvisation, and a personal voice within the tradition.

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance and Education from Codarts University of Arts in Rotterdam, with a specialization in Ney, Ottoman, and Anatolian music. My background also includes classical piano and jazz studies, as well as intensive training with leading masters in Turkey, Greece, and Israel, alongside international performance experience in festivals, workshops, broadcasts, and recordings.

I teach through listening, imitation, and guided repetition, drawing on the modal traditions of the Middle East. We work through traditional melodies and repertoire as a way to explore makam, ornamentation, phrasing, improvisation, and the deeper musical logic behind each piece, so that technique and expression grow together in a natural, musical way.