Begüm Calimli is a classically trained violinist and educator whose work spans orchestral performance, interdisciplinary artistic collaboration, and music pedagogy. Born in Istanbul and raised between Istanbul and Miami, she is currently based between Istanbul and London. She performs as a freelance member of the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra and collaborates with contemporary visual artists, creating sound installations. In September 2026, she will continue her studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, pursuing her second Master's degree in Advanced Instrumental Studies.
Begüm Calimli began her musical education at the age of six, studying violin and piano in Istanbul. At ten, she was admitted to the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Istanbul State Conservatory, where she studied with Prof. Reşit Nuri İyicil and graduated from the class of Prof. Pelin Halkacı Akın in 2009. Throughout her conservatory years, she worked with distinguished violinists including David Kim, Vadim Gluzman, Dora Schwarzberg, Pavel Vernikov, Pierre Amoyal and Mintcho Mintchev.
Between 2010 and 2015, she continued her professional career in Miami, studying at the Florida International University School of Music with Prof. Robert Davidovici. During this period, she served as Acting Assistant Principal Violinist with the Miami Symphony Orchestra and performed as a section violinist with the Florida Grand Opera, the Palm Beach Symphony, the Southwest Florida Symphony, and the Dominican Republic National Symphony Orchestra.
Since 2008, Begüm has performed as a freelance member of the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, where she holds a position in the 1st Violin Tutti. Over the course of her career, she has collaborated with world-renowned conductors and soloists including Krzysztof Penderecki, Maxim Vengerov, Lang Lang, Vadim Repin, Angela Gheorghiu, Isabelle Faust, Rudolf Buchbinder, Branford Marsalis, Sarah Chang, and Fazıl Say, among others.
Since 2019, she has been active in the field of visual arts, creating sound compositions and installations in collaboration with contemporary artists Camila Rocha, Huo Rf, Cengiz Tekin, Mehmet Ali Boran, and Murat Germen. She took part in the Work and Research Program of the 17th Istanbul Biennial alongside visual artist Hale Tenger, and most recently created a solo violin composition for the retrospective exhibition of Füsun Onur at the Ludwig Museum in Cologne.
A dedicated educator, Begüm served as an assistant in Prof. Pelin Halkacı Akın's violin class at the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Istanbul State Conservatory from 2015 to 2025, teaching within the conservatory's violin program. She holds a Pedagogical Education Program Certificate in Early Childhood Music Education from Marmara University and attended the 8th Starling-Delay Symposium on Violin Studies at the Juilliard School in 2015. She also serves on the board of the World Federation of Amateur Orchestras, supported by the European Music Council.
Begüm is the author of the children's book Nanuk ve Pati Sonatı, which addresses the climate crisis through a musical narrative. She performs on a violin by Italian maker Filippo Fasser (2024) and a bow by German maker Daniel Schmidt (2025).