Behiye Suren: language reawakening through music

Behiye (Be) Suren is an Australian born singer/songwriter. Her original fusion folk music (in English and Turkish) weaves the rhythms and melodies of her two homelands Sydney and Istanbul. 

Behiye’s artistic practice and her belief in the healing power of self-expression through singing and songwriting is summed up by a quote from Turkish folk musician Erkan Owur "Everybody should make music, every creature and every object has music inside it and everybody should search for their own." 

 This belief is what lead Be into the field of music therapy where she spent her studies focusing on mental and community health. Becoming an RMT has meant that she is now able to work in l school, community and council programs using self-expression through music as a tool to promote social/emotional well-being, cultural cohesion and a sense of identity and belonging in multicultural participants, including First Nations youth and refugees. 

 Be was a delegate for ‘diverse women in music’at the 2019 Australian Women in Music awards in Brisbane. She still performs at events such as Global Table, International Women’s Day festivals and cultural events. You can follow her music and find her social links through her website besuren.com.

 I invited Be on to talk about her involvement in a language reawakening project, centered around the town of Warren in the NSW central west. It’s a fascinating conversation about the role of music in relation to identity, peoples, language, culture and intergenerational trauma.

If you'd like to support the work of Warraan Widji Arts, you can do so at: https://www.warraanwidjiarts.org.au/