Rasih Öztürk 
Composer - Guitarist - Educator - Producer

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Rasih Öztürk is an educator, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and aspiring author whose work spans performance, scholarship, and teaching. A summa cum laude graduate of Berklee College of Music in Jazz Composition with a 3.99/4 GPA, he earned the World Tour Full-Tuition Scholarship and the Arif Mardin Scholarship, establishing himself internationally as both performer and educator.

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With over 12 years of teaching experience, Rasih has guided 50+ long-term private students worldwide in harmony, theory, ear training, arranging, orchestration, guitar, and bass. His students have won scholarships and admissions to Berklee, Longy, LACM, BIMM Berlin, and the University of St. Thomas. He has given masterclasses in Turkey and the U.S., including sessions at Anoka Ramsey Community College on melodic improvisation and composition.

At Berklee, Rasih studied harmony and advanced concepts with mentor Steve Rochinski, who reshaped his artistic and scholarly outlook.

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He also studied jazz composition and composition with Greg Hopkins, Jeff Claassen, Nicholas Urie, Brian Landrus, and Randy Pingrey, string writing with

Arnold Friedman, orchestration with Amparo Edo Biol, and guitar with Sal DiFusco and Lauren Passarelli. At McNally Smith College of Music, he studied guitar with Christopher Olson, composition with Jay Fuchs and Mark Henderson, and piano with Sean Turner, building a strong base in jazz and classical traditions.

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As a performer and bandleader, Rasih has given 350+ performances across jazz, chamber, and contemporary music. He leads the Rasih Öztürk Quartet, performs with the Nisa Benna Band, and collaborates widely. A true multi-instrumentalist without genre boundaries, he has played nearly every style—from jazz and classical to rock, pop, and traditional music—and composes for ensembles, soloists, and media projects. As a producer and arranger, he founded Atthis Productions (2020–22), producing for 10+ artists and contributing as arranger and orchestrator to many collaborations.

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Rasih is also active as a composer and recording artist. His works include the album Early Bird (2020), the single I Am the Real Free (2021), and upcoming releases such as Saxophone Quartet - First Night on Newbury Street (2025), Rasih Öztürk & Friends at Berklee (2025), and an extended jazz composition Quite Becomes the Noon (2025) for saxophones and Rhythm Section.

His writing blends jazz improvisation, orchestral textures, and modern harmonic language.

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He is the author of the forthcoming series Out of the Abstract: A Comprehensive Harmonic Technique for the 21st Century Musician (first volume expected 2025) and is preparing Tonal Memory Training (2026), a method for hearing and internalizing melody and harmony.

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Balancing scholarship, artistry, and education, Rasih continues to inspire students, develop innovative methods, and expand the language of contemporary music across genres.