Baltacigil, Efe (26th December 1978-Present)

He is a cellist born in Istanbul, Turkey to a family where his father was Principal Double Bass with the Istanbul State Symphony and his brother, Fora, has been Principal Double Bassist who has performed with the New York Philharmonic and the Munich Philharmonic. He began studies on the violin when he was 5 years old and after two years switched his interest to the cello. He earned his Bachelor of Music at Istanbul’s Mimar Sinan University Conservatory before relocating the the United States to study at the Curtis Institute of Music here he received the Curtis Institute’s Jacqueline du Pre Scholarship.

He has participated in several competitions, winning first prize at concerto competitions at Allentown Schadt String Competition and in New York and Istanbul. In 2005 he won the Young Concert Artists International Audition and in 2006 was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant.

In 2003 he became Associate Principal Cello of The Philadelphia Orchestra and joined the Seattle Symphony as Principal Cello in 2011.

As a chamber musician he is a member of of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society II, has performed with the Curtis Chamber Orchestra and East Coast Chamber Orchestra, been part of Yo-Yo Ma‘s Silk Road Project and toured with Musicians from Marlboro. He has also performed with his brother at the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle.

Recordings he performs on include Adolphe: Self Comes to Mind by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Maloja Pass and The Marmalade Balloon by Mico Nonet, Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 6/Piano Quartet, Schumann and Sawallisch and Peter Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 “Pathetique”/Dumka by The Philadelphia Orchestra and Faure: Masques et Bergamasques etc, John Luther Adams: Become Ocean and John Luther Adams: Become Desert by Seattle Symphony.

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Baltacigil, Efe (26th December 1978-Present)

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