Jessica Choe and Efe Baltacigil

No longer a well-kept secret for locals, the J’s Concert Series continues to garner notoriety from discriminating concert enthusiasts with acclaimed musicians offering diverse entertainment in an unparalleled venue.

This concert promises to delight with a broad range of musical styles by virtuosos Choe and Baltacigil.

Korean-American pianist Jessica Choe began her musical studies at the age of three in Seoul, Korea where she was a prize winner in several national piano competitions. Ms. Choe has won numerous awards in the USA including the Beethoven Society of America Piano Competition, the Baldwin Competition, the Henbest Piano Competition, the Bartok-Kabelevsky International Piano Competition and the Steinway Society Piano Competition. An avid chamber musician, Ms. Chose holds a Bachelor of Music from the Peabody Conservatory of Music of Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Music from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Stessin, Pasternack and Sokoloff.

Described by the Seattle Times as a “cellist of superb nuances and spontaneous musicality”, Efe Baltacigil has been Principal Cello of the Seattle Symphony since 2011, and previously Associate Principal Cello of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Baltacigil started studying the violin at age five and changed to the cello two years later. He received his bachelor’s degree from Mimar Sinan University Conservatory in Istanbul and an artist diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Recent highlights include his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle; performances of Tchaikovsky with the Bilkent Symphony and the Seattle Symphony; and Brahms with violinist Juliette Kang and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra.