Melihat Gülses

Melihat Gülses — Biography

Melihat Gülses is a performer of classical Turkish music, born on 1 October 1958 in the Akşehir district of Konya. She completed primary and secondary school in various Anatolian provinces and finished high school at Fatih Kız Lisesi, attending conservatory classes while still a student; she entered the İTÜ Turkish Music State Conservatory's voice department in 1976 and graduated in 1984. She joined TRT İstanbul Radio in 1981, launching her music career, and continues to work there today. She is married to tanbur player Necip Gülses, and the couple have a daughter, Neva, and a son, Alihan.

Over her career she was the featured soloist on the 1996 album Tatyos Efendi and on the İncesaz ensemble's 2002 album İki/Eylül Şarkıları, and in 2011 she received two separate arts awards for her contribution to Turkish music. By her own account, the song "Günaydınım Narçiçeğim" was what first introduced her to a wide audience. Still performing across a range spanning classical repertoire to folk songs, she appeared in Ramadan 2026 programs with Bekir Köse, singing pieces such as "Çanakkale Türküsü," and summed up her professional outlook in one interview with the words "an artist does not get ahead through conflict."