Turkish cellist Efe Baltacıgil comes from very musical family. At age five he started with the violin then at seven he switched to cello. After graduating from Mimar Sinan University State Conservatory in Istanbul he got in to the famous Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Peter Wiley and David Soyer. He won the Philadelphia Orchestra Associate Principal cello position at the age of 23, the Young Concert Artist audition, and the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2006. In 2012 He made his Philadelphia Orchestra concerto debut followed by Berlin Philharmonic debut with the conductor Sir Simon Rattle. Efe Baltacigil currently holds the principal cello position in the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Founding member of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra as well as member of the prestigious Marlboro Music Festival in VT. In his free time Efe enjoys sailing, windsurfing and volleypong.