The Turkish Orchestra Conductor: Öykü Yanık [inside my journal]

Hailing from Istanbul, Öykü Yanık shares how she conducts her life planning using her journals, on her path to becoming a professional orchestra conductor.

What made you want to be an orchestra conductor? 

A beautiful question with a beautiful answer! I was studying violin in Turkey and at a certain point, I just wanted to know more about what was going on behind the scenes. I love talking with people and I love dictating things, and I love just knowing more than everybody else! As a conductor, you're the only one that has the big score in front of you, so it just really appealed to me.

I also wanted to expand my musical life by seeing more, so at 17, I began my journey to become an orchestra conductor. 

What was the first time you conducted a professional orchestra?

Finding opportunities to conduct in Turkey was not easy. I only conducted school orchestras and some theatre orchestras at that point. The first professional orchestra I conducted was in Leipzig with the Leipzig symphony, and my first ever concert was in the Gewandhaus. I was 19 years old, and I went to a master class in Leipzig with the Leipzig Symphony Orchestra. It was very scary. But we worked with a very good maestro, and I conducted Beethoven. It was nerve wracking but very exciting for me. 

How do your paper republic journals come into your musical life?

Trying to become a professional conductor requires a lot of planning. I tried so many things to keep myself organized but I just cannot do online reminders on my computer or tablet.

I cannot read anything that is not printed. I cannot write on anything electronic. I'm very serious about my stationery. That comes from my childhood, because I have two uncles who both worked in a big stationery store, and every year before the school, they would bring me huge boxes filled with new items. So I got to try so many pens and notepads, and different journals in my life. 

I stumbled across paper republic somehow and liked the look of them so bought a journal. I use it for all my little pens and brochures and lots of other knick-knacks because I love collecting things. 

What is your journal setup? 

I have the grand voyageur in olive green. I have a little pen on the top, and four elastic ribbons to keep everything intact because one was not enough. Inside I have the 2025 planner and the ruled paper book. I have a little music notebook in there too.

Do you have a favourite type of paper?

I got the 2025 planner, and I'm loving it; the paper quality is amazing, because I can use whatever pen I want and it never bleeds through to the other side. That’s very important for me.

For programming my life I needed something very personal that I can use for a long time. I love using leather things in general and paper republic’s leather is really high quality – I know my leather! It has become a little bit darker over time, which I love.

What's the next thing you're working on?

I have a concert in the south of Turkey, conducting a very good state orchestra. It's actually my first concert in Turkey! I gave a lot of concerts via master classes around Europe, but until now, nothing in my home country. I hope it will be the first of the many. 

What would be your dream orchestra to conduct?

I would like to conduct every symphony from Bruckner, who was Austrian. Also, because I love opera, especially German opera, I really want to conduct Wagner somewhere. It's not important where. And I would love to go back to the Gewandhaus for a concert.

What’s your advice for other people who dream of becoming an orchestra conductor?

Well, I am still on the journey but I think the most important thing for me was learning other languages. You have to speak so many languages, because for each type of music, it really helps to know the mother tongue of the composer.

This means you need to know some German, Italian, French, plus English just because it’s the international working language too. So learning languages is very important part of becoming a conductor.

With your uncles in the stationery business you have tried many different journals and notebooks. What is it about paper republic that keeps you using them?

First of all, I love the videos showing people making journals in your Vienna workshop. If I'm going to carry something around with me all the time, I want to know who is making it. Whenever I have a question or need some advice about a new leather colour or book refill, I love that actual people answer me, rather than an AI chatbot.

And the second thing I really love about paper republic, is the leather. It’s just looks great and feels great. Over the months and years, mine has put up with some rough treatment and I really like how the marks and scuffs have aged it, but in a really nice way; it just looks more and more vintage. 

Lastly, I can put whatever I want inside. If I want to put something bigger in, like a brush, or something longer, in every size, it works. I just love how I can personalise my journals for exactly what I need. 

What's inside YOUR journal? Share your story with us!

How? Email: sam@paper-republic.com with a brief summary of how you use your journal, adding 'inside my journal' to the email subject line.