Zeynep Lal Kara (b. 2005) is an award-winning Turkish pianist, composer, arranger, and music director based in Boston, Massachusetts. Working across concert performance, musical theatre, jazz, and screen, her career bridges performance, composition, arranging, and music direction.

Born in Antalya, Türkiye, Kara began piano studies at the age of four and entered the Akdeniz University State Conservatory at seven. Under the guidance of Gökçe Göktepe, she performed extensively throughout Turkey and earned top prizes at international piano competitions in Vienna, United States, Tbilisi, İzmir, İstanbul, and Antalya.

She later continued her education at Berkshire School in Massachusetts before enrolling at Berklee College of Music, where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Music with a double major in Piano Performance and Contemporary Writing & Production and a minor in Film & Media Scoring.

Recent career highlights include her debut at Lincoln Center, work with Charlie Puth, performances at 54 Below, the Huntington Theatre, the Berklee Performance Center, and Red Room at Café 939, as well as collaborations across concert performance, musical theatre, and contemporary music. Her work has been recognized through international competition awards, the SKÅL International Achievement Award, the Arif Mardin Scholarship, and multiple honors from Berklee College of Music, including the Contemporary Classical Performance Award, the Piano Department Chair Award, and the Performance Division Award.

Alongside an active career as a performer and music director, Kara composes, arranges, and produces original music spanning jazz, large ensemble writing, and screen. Her debut release, 408, marks the beginning of her recording career as an artist, composer, arranger, producer, and pianist.