Derya Yıldırım is an internationally recognized musician and a leading figure in contemporary Anatolian-inspired music. With her voice and bağlama, she brings traditional Anatolian folk music into new, innovative forms and performs worldwide.

She studied at the University of Music and Theatre Hamburg (2013–2016) and later completed her bağlama degree with Taner Akyol at the Berlin University of the Arts (2020). Since 2024 she has been teaching bağlama at the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg.

With her internationally based group "Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek", she has released several albums that combine Anatolian folk songs with elements of psychedelia, jazz and soul. Their forth album "Yarın Yoksa" ("If There Is No Tomorrow"), produced by Leon Michels (El Michels Affair), was released on Big Crown Records in 2025 and celebrated with a concert at Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie Grand Hall, featuring Ensemble Resonanz. The group continues to tour extensively across Europe and internationally. In 2026, Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek returned to North America for concerts across the United States and Canada, with another North American Tour Scheduled fpr autmn 2026.

As a soloist, Yıldırım focuses even more closely on the bağlama, exploring its expressive and technical range and bringing Anatolian folk music in major concert halls and orchestral contexts. In August 2026, she was invited to perform as a featured soloist and special guest at the BBC Proms at London’s Royal Albert Hall, appearing alongside Altın Gün, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Jules Buckley, and performing her own repertoire as part of a programme of newly orchestrated Anatolian music.
‍
Earlier that year, she headlined Yıldırım & Avital with internationally acclaimed mandolinist Avi Avital and Ensemble Resonanz, with performances at Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie Grand Hall and a sold-out concert at the Konzerthaus Berlin. The programme brought Anatolian music into dialogue with Baroque repertoire and contemporary composition and featured the world premiere of Taner Akyol’s PHOENIX, a concerto for bağlama, mandolin, percussion and string orchestra.

Yıldırım's work has also received recognition across different areas of the music landscape. In 2023, she and Graham Mushnik were nominated for the POLYTON Award in the Wildcard category for their intergenerational album Hey Dostum, Çak! - Music for Children and Other People. In 2025, Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek were nominated as Best Act at the VIA - VUT Indie Awards. In 2026,  Yıldırım was nominated for the KULTÜR Awards in the Music Bridge category.

Her commitment to establishing the bağlama within broader artistic contexts is also reflected in her educational and curatorial work. Since 2025, she has been part of the jury for Jugend musiziert – Germany's leading nationwide competition for young musicians – where she oversees the newly introduced bağlama category. She has also served on the jury of Hamburg's Krach + Getöse music award.

She collaborates regularly with ensembles and on interdisciplinary projects. Since 2014 she has worked with Ensemble Resonanz, developing new compositions for strings and bağlama, including her project "Derya's Songbook" (Elbphilharmonie, 2019). She has also collaborated with Cologne's ERMA Ensemble and performed as musician and performer in the Neuköllner Oper Berlin production "Haydar tanzt" (2024/2025). Her work for film has become an increasingly important field. In 2024 she composed, produced, and performed the complete score for Martina Priessner's award-winning documentary "Die Möllner Briefe", which premiered at the Berlinale in February 2025 and was released in German cinemas in September 2025.
Earlier she contributed to Pola Beck's "Der Russe, der Birken liebt" (2022) and appeared as musician and protagonist in Cem Kaya's award-winning documentary "Aşk, Mark ve Ölüm – Love, D-Mark and Death".

Beyond stage and film, Yıldırım has also created works in sound art and radio drama. Her 7-channel installation "sesin melodim, seslerin yankım benim" (Hamburg, 2023) explored sonic memories between Hamburg (De) and Sivas (TR). She also composed the music for the drama "Güldens Schwester" (Bayrischer Rundfunk 2020).

In addition, she engages with audiences through radio and curated mixes. She has twice appeared on BBC World Service's Music Life, taking part in artist-led programme bringing musicians together for conversations about their work, influences and creative practice. She has also runs the programme bağlama_spezial.mp3 on Berlin's community station THF-Radio and produced an exclusive mix for London's NTS Radio.