An Inspired Chat with Gökçe Çatakoğlu of Cologne Germany

Gökçe Çatakoğlu shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Gökçe, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
I am most proud of building a sense of respect and love for the music that I play and listen to, no matter what genre of music it is. As a musician who is currently working on various musical styles all at once – jazz, western classical music and traditional Turkish music- I can say that it can be quite challenging to play each musical style in the most authentic way and grasp an understanding and feeling for each genre of music. However, as I learn new things about different music genres everyday, I can see that they are all connected in some way and one thing led to another. I came across people who had the idea that it is better to concentrate on one genre of music and be “the best” at it. There are times when I doubt the idea of trying to become a diverse musician, because the learning and understanding process one has to go through, is too overwhelming sometimes. But then I think, that if one where to only concentrate on one area , then they would miss out a lot and probably the music making would not be as fulfilling, for both for the musician and the audience. Therefore, whenever I feel unmotivated, in doubt and clueless, I try to tell myself that the music is there and will teach me and show me the path.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a 21 year old violinist and I am originally from Turkey. I live in Cologne, Germany and I am currently studying Jazz/Pop Violin Bachelor at Hochschule Für Musik und Tanz Köln. I have a classical music background. Before I moved to Cologne, I went to the Yehudi Menuhin School in London, England and studied there with Professor Boris Kucharsky.

I regularly play concerts with my own band, with other bands and in recording sessions in Cologne. The repertoire of these concerts is mostly made up of fusion jazz, classical guitar and violin duos and orchestral concerts and traditional Turkish music, depending on the concert. As well as playing violin, I sing, play the piano and compose/arrange music. Recently in January 2025, we performed with my band at Jazz Against The Machine Festival, where we played various jazz pieces which I arranged and my song “Irresistible Chocolate”.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
I think one thing that I am trying to stop doing is to put a label on myself and say “I am this kind of a person”. As a child I would not do this, but adults would always describe me in some way and I believe that I learned how to judge and put labels on myself and other people from adults. I try to remind myself that I can be everything; shy, brave, outgoing, angry, calm… The important thing is to not identify and define myself with a certain role, but just to play the role and then let go of it. We are humans and we are going to have to let go of our roles one day.
For example, I have a sharp musical ear and I can recognise notes instantly. But when I get old, who knows if my ears are still the same. As a matter of fact, I have to accept that this is only a skill and not the reason why I am the person I am.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Throughout my musical journey I went through phases where I worked hard but I did not get the results instantly. This was more during my teenage years but it does not necessarily mean that similar feelings do not come back nowadays from time to time. I remember being really frustrated because I could not play like the other amazing violinists. Thankfully, I had a really nice violin teacher and he told me this quote “Different fruits ripe at different times”. The original quote is “Anyone who imagines that all fruits ripen at the same time as the strawberries knows nothing of grapes,” is attributed to the physician and alchemist Paracelsus. As a 14 year old, I was impatient and I did not really understand the role of time in personal growth. I had a tendency to think that I have to get the result according to the amount of effort I put in. However, through different experiences I now understand that what really makes us find our true identity is the unique path in life each person has to go through, at their own pace.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
I think one of the things that a lot of people, including myself get confused about these days, is to know what we really want. This could be because nowadays we are all afraid on some level, to oppose the people in our group and say or do something that is not right. For example, I have recently observed that when I am writing a piece of music, I tend to think, my teacher at university will not like this. As a result, I throw the idea away or try to change it so that other people like it. But by doing this, I actually limit my ideas and writing music becomes a way to getting validation from other people. I think it is so crucial to listen to our gut feeling, take risks and to release our ideas without expecting success or validation from people. Even if the idea turns out to be hated by everyone, it still belongs to you and you will learn more about yourself and grow if you honestly reveal your ideas.

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
I would always try to give my best to make good music. Of course being congratulated after a concert is such an honouring feeling. However, being praised and validated should not be the motivation why we put in all this effort. At the end of the day, music, or any other art form is a way to reflect the time we are living in and maybe open new perspectives. Therefore, we should always be praising the music, not ourselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.instagram.com/gokce.catakoglu?igsh=NjAwbDRiaWwxdjF6
• Yelp: https://youtube.com/@gokcecatakoglu4?si=8sJHjh9zIxQC66Z9