Rasih Öztürk
Composer - Guitarist - Educator - Producer
Sina Koloğlu
pianist, composer, journalist
...he gave life to my composition 'Mevhibe'.
He made an orchestration that grasped
the essence of the piece.
...great talent with his musical knowledge
and ability to convey this to the musical spirit. Especially his guitar tones are very impressive
and his avant-garde approach
to his compositions also draws attention...
Sal DiFusco
guitarist, composer
professor - Berklee College of Music
I always enjoy working with the fine, young,
up and coming musicians like Rasih Öztürk
that you just know will make a mark
on the industry. Rasih can do it all.
Guitarist, Composer, Arranger, a serious cat,
with impeccable attention to detail!
A connection beyond his years.
Yiğit Yeşildağ
sound engineer, guitarist, producer
I knew I'd make great projects with him from the moment he walked into my studio, but I was too inexperienced to realize he was a genius.
Kavyesh Kaviraj
pianist, composer, educator
Rasih is one of the most skilled musicians I've ever worked with.
His capacity to feel music encompasses a multitude of skills: as a composer, guitarist, improviser and teacher, he is of the finest international caliber.
His work ethic and drive to master every field he touches is unparalleled, and he is an excellent example of musicianship.
Rasih Öztürk is an educator, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and aspiring author whose work spans performance and scholarship.
A summa cum laude graduate of Berklee College of Music in Jazz Composition with a 3.99/4 GPA where he studied with the World Tour Full-Tuition and the Arif Mardin Scholarships, establishing himself internationally both as a performer, composer and an educator.
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 institutions such as Berklee, Longy, LACM, BIMM Berlin, and the University of St. Thomas with scholarships.
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, advanced harmonic and compositional concepts with his mentor Steve Rochinski, who completely reshaped his artistic and scholarly outlook.
He also studied jazz composition and arranging with Greg Hopkins, Jeff Claassen, Nicholas Urie, Brian Landrus, and Randy Pingrey, string writing and composition 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.
As a performer and bandleader, Rasih has given 350+ official 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 with variety of ensembles. As a producer and arranger, he founded Atthis Productions (2020–22), producing for 10+ artists and contributing as arranger and orchestrator to many collaborations.
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 language and technique includes historical influences of all musical eras from renaissance to post-bop to today.
He is the author of the forthcoming series Out of the Abstract: A Comprehensive Harmonic Technique for the 21st Century Musician (first volume expected 2026) and is preparing Tonal Memory Training (2026), a method for hearing and internalizing melody and harmony.
Balancing scholarship and artistry, Rasih continues to inspire students, develop innovative methods, and expand the language of contemporary music across genres.
Some Academic & Career Highlights:
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Summa Cum Laude - Berklee College of Music
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Full Tuition Scholarship - Berklee College of Music
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Arif Mardin Scholarship - Berklee College of Music
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Dean's List (Each Semester) - Berklee College of Music
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President's Scholarship - Los Angeles College of Music
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Merit + Academic Scholarship - Los Angeles College of Music
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Full International Student Scholarship - University of St. Thomas, MN
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Platinum Scholarship - McNally Smith College of Music
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Dean's List - McNally Smith College of Music
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1st Place - National Songwriting Contest by American Collegiate Institute
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Best Bass Player - National Songwriting Contest by American Collegiate Institute
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Talent Scholarship - The Collective School of Music, NYC