Meriç Artaç is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice brings together composition, storytelling, the creation of musical characters, and music and theatre production. Moving fluidly between musical and theatrical disciplines, she creates imaginative worlds in which sound, narrative, and performance intertwine. Her work spans acoustic and electronic music, opera, and interdisciplinary collaborations, reflecting a continuous exploration of new forms of artistic expression.
Alongside her artistic practice, Artaç is actively involved in music education and the development of the next generation of composers. Since September 2018, she has taught composition at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and has served as coordinator and representative of the Composition Department at Codarts Rotterdam.
Most recently, Artaç premiered her opera Requiem for Mariza on 13 March 2026 at Dutch National Opera & Ballet, marking another significant milestone in her ongoing exploration of contemporary opera and multidisciplinary musical storytelling.
In February 2023, her orchestral work for the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra premiered at the renowned Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The previous year, in October 2022, her chamber orchestra composition, commissioned for Pynarello Ensemble, premiered and subsequently toured throughout the Netherlands.
In November 2021, Artaç premiered her opera The Arrival of Mr. Z at Nieuwe Kerk in The Hague, bringing her three-year residency at Festival Dag in de Branding (2019–2021) to a close. During this period, she contributed to eight editions of the festival as Artist in Residence. Earlier that year, in May 2021, her Prologue Lullaby, composed for Purcell's opera Dido & Aeneas, premiered at Muziekgebouw Amsterdam. In 2022, the work was also performed at the International Bach Festival at Teatro Pérez Galdós in Gran Canaria.
In October 2020, her cello concerto FALAZ premiered at Cello Biënnale Amsterdam, performed by Pieter Wispelwey and the Score Collective ensemble. The previous month, her arrangement of Florence Price's The Moon Bridge was performed during the opening night of Dutch National Ballet & Opera in the production FAUST (Working Title).
In August 2019, Artaç premiered her opera VrouwenStemmen at Grachtenfestival. Earlier that year, in March, her opera Kayra was presented in Mexico by the University of Guanajuato Symphony Orchestra (OSUG) as part of the Callejón del Ruido Festival.
In November 2018, she premiered her opera Madam Koo in Amsterdam, in collaboration with Diamantfabriek and AKOM Ensemble. Earlier that year, in March, her composition Gaia, commissioned by Doelen Ensemble, premiered at DeLaMar Theater.
On 1 June 2016, Artaç was appointed Artistic Director of AKOM Ensemble, a Rotterdam-based ensemble dedicated to contemporary classical music, a position she held until May 2021. That same year, she received de Rotterdamse School Compositieprijs, awarded annually by Doelen Ensemble to an outstanding composition student at Codarts. On 10 October 2016, during the Red Sofa series, Doelen Ensemble selected her 2013 electronic composition The Writer Quadrophonic for performance.
In 2015, Artaç founded her own production company, Meriç Artaç Productions. That same year, she graduated cum laude with a Master's degree in Composition from Codarts University of the Arts in Rotterdam, where she studied under the guidance of Peter-Jan Wagemans. Recognised as an outstanding graduate, she was invited to present her opera Kayra at Gaudeamus Muziekweek in Utrecht.
Born in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1990, Artaç began her musical education at the age of five at the Istanbul University State Conservatory, where she graduated at eighteen. She subsequently moved to Rotterdam to pursue composition studies, laying the foundations for the multidisciplinary artistic practice she continues to develop today.