Bassoonist Nehir Ekşi was born in Eskişehir in 2006. She completed her primary education at TED Eskişehir College between 2012 and 2016. In 2016, she was admitted to the Music Department of the State Conservatory at Anadolu University, where she initially joined the violin class of Professor Hale Basmacıoğlu. She began her bassoon studies in 2020 with Professor Sabriye Özkan, and in September 2021 she had the opportunity to work individually with Glenn Einschlag, a faculty member of the Royal Conservatory of Canada. In 2022, Ekşi participated in a masterclass by Professor Annika Fredriksson at the Malmö Academy of Music in Sweden.
She performed with the Doğuş Children’s Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Rengim Gökmen at Istanbul Galataport in both 2022 and 2023. She has played in the Anadolu University Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Anadolu University Symphony Orchestra, and has performed in her school’s bassoon class concerts as well as in chamber music concerts. Winning the soloist auditions held by the Anadolu University Symphony Orchestra, she appeared as a soloist with the orchestra in the 2023/24 season.
She participated in the Livorno Music Festival in Italy, where she worked with leading bassoonist Paolo Carlini. She also took part in an active bassoon workshop with Sophie Dervaux, principal bassoon of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and joined an online masterclass with Professor Bram van Sambeek. She has also taken lessons with Professor Ole Christian Dahl at the Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts. She reached the final round of the Birmingham International Music Competition, held online in the United Kingdom.
During her secondary education, she performed under conductors including Murat Göktaş, Ramazan Albayrak, Oğuzhan Kavruk, Rengim Gökmen, Oğuzhan Balcı, Cem Mansur, and Christof M. Löser in various orchestral concerts.
In the summer of 2024, Ekşi successfully passed the auditions for the Turkish National Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. Under the baton of Cem Mansur, she performed in concerts in Türkiye and across Europe, including venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Salò and Venice in Italy, and the Konzerthaus in Berlin, as part of the Young Euro Classic Festival.
On 11 June 2024, she was admitted to the undergraduate programme at the University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart in the class of Professor Marc Engelhardt. Since beginning her studies in March 2025, Ekşi has also studied technique and pedagogy with Oliver Hasenzahl and contrabassoon with Oskar Münchgesang. She furthered her studies in composition, which she had started with Pieter Snapper back in Turkey. She has given chamber music concerts in ‘Werkstatt’ (the new music) festivals and has performed in her bassoon class recitals at various venues.
In April 2026, the musician took part in the masterclass of Axel Benoit, a professor at the Hochschule für Musik Mainz. During the same period, having won the auditions for the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation’s Live Music Now Stuttgart programme, she earned the opportunity to perform in concerts organised by the foundation, and in 2026 was also selected to participate in the summer academy held as part of the Tsinandali Festival.
Nehir Ekşi is currently continuing her studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart.