Baltacigil, Fora (1983-Present)

He is a double bassist born in Istanbul, Turkey to a family where his father was Principal Double Bass with the Istanbul State Symphony and his brother, Efe, has been Associate Principal Cello of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Principal Cello of Seattle Symphony. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree at the Istanbul University Conservatory in 2002 before going to the US to earn an Artist Diploma at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2006.

He went on to become Principal Bass of the Minnesota Orchestra from 2006 to 2009 where he performed “Concerto for Bass Viol” by John Harbison in 2008 and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in 2012 to 2014. He was also a member of the Berlin Philharmonic from 2009 to 2012 where he performed “Grand Duo” by Giovanni Bottesini with his brother under the conductorship of Sir Simon Rattle in 2012. He became Principal Bass with the Munich Philharmonic in 2014.

Recording he has performed on include Ludwig van Beethoven: Klavierkonzerte 1-5, Anton Bruckner: Symphonien 1-9 and Mahler: Symphonien 1-10 by the Berlin Philharmonic and Sellale by Sunay Ozgur.
He also performed on the soundtrack of the 2021 film Hakikat.

He has performed at many music festivals as a chamber musician and/or soloist and won first prize at the Delaware Symphony Concerto Competition in 2004 and Riverside Sinfonia’s Caprio Artists Competition in 2006. He performed with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble in 2008 and the following year was awarded the McKnight Foundation of Minnesota Artist Fellowship.

In the field of musical education he has held masterclasses at the Curtis Institute of Music, Juilliard School and New York University.

Sources:

Baltacigil, Fora (1983-Present)

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