Pınar Dönmez was born in Istanbul, Turkey. At the age of 10 she went to the State Conservatory of Istanbul to learn singing and she was very disappointed to hear the fact that she had to be 16 in order to be accepted to the singing department. The school suggested her to attend the classical guitar exams, so that she could accompany herself while singing after her 16th. In 1994 she was accepted to the classical guitar department of the conservatory.
When she was 16 years old she had to postpone her ambition of singing due to her intensive studies at the school and conservatory. In 2003 at the last year of her school she had the opportunity to have singing lessons from the most famous Turkish jazz singer, Nükhet Ruacan. The same year she graduated from her (Italian) high school and went to the Netherlands to study her biggest passion, singing.
After having studied at the Conservatory of Amsterdam for two years, she continued her vocal study at the Jazz & Pop Department of ArtEZ Conservatory in Zwolle. During her study she attended the lessons and workshops of many famous musicians such as; Bobby McFerrin, Nancy Marano, Ronald Douglas and Astrid Seriese. By getting the ‘Estill Voice Training System’ and an EVTS Diploma, she intensified her knowledge about the broad possibilities and techniques of the singing instrument. She also got education courses and certificates at the SAE Amsterdam Institute, about Home Studio Production and she got a teacher’s degree for teaching Yoga for Children.
During her school years together with the a-capella group Fourtress. they gave concerts in the Netherlands and in Turkey. Along with experiencing how to make music only with human voice and without any instruments, she had the chance to discover the common elements of music and theatre on stage.
Pınar concentrated on every kind of music style which inspired her. Feeling that she herself is a natural blend of the eastern and western culture, she was in search of this element also in her music. The interest she had for the folkloric music and the urge she had to fulfil her continuous longing for east and west, resulted in composing her own songs.
In 2009 she graduated from her conservatory by preparing an exam in which she had almost only her own compositions.
After her graduation she started giving concerts in the Netherlands and in Turkey.
She recorded her first album ‘Hayata Evet’ together with her Dutch fellow musicians. The album is a nice blend of pop, European Jazz and Turkish folk music.
Pınar Dönmez is the daughter of successful actor and dubbing artist, Levent Dönmez.