FEATURED ARTISTS

EFE BALTACIGIL, violoncello

Oregon Music Festival welcomes internationally acclaimed cellist Efe Baltacigil as OMF Signature Artist.  

Turkish cellist Efe Baltacıgil was acclaimed by audiences and critics alike in February 2005 when he and pianist Emanuel Ax performed Beethoven’s Cello Sonata No.1 at a Philadelphia Orchestra concert with only 10 minutes of rehearsal. Mr.Baltacigil, the Orchestra’s Associate Principal Cellist, and Mr. Ax, the evening’s soloist, were called upon when a winter snowstorm prevented most of the Orchestra from reaching the concert hall. After that performance,
The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote: “Baltacigil is a highly individualized solo artist. His gorgeous sound, strong personality, and expressive depth suggest an artist about to have a major career.”

Mr. Baltacigil won the 2005 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. He was also awarded The Peter Jay Sharp Prize, which presented his New York debut in December 2005, and the Washington Performing Arts Society Prize, which presented his Washington, DC, debut in April 2006. 

This season, he also debuts at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. He appears atCarnegie’s Zankel Hall in Richard Goode’s Perspectives series and gives performances at the Philadelphia Academy of Music, the Curtis Institute of Music, the North Dakota Museum of Art, Mayville State University (ND), and the Buffalo Chamber Music Society. 

Mr. Baltacigil has performed the Brahms Sextet withPinchas Zukerman, Midori and Yo-Yo Ma at Carnegie Hall for Isaac Stern’s memorial, and participated in Mr. Ma’s Silk Road Project. He has also appeared as soloist in the Schumann Cello Concerto with the Curtis Chamber Orchestra conducted by Otto-Werner Mueller. He has toured with Musicians from Marlboroand is a member of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society Two. 

CARLA TRYNCHUK, violin

OMF's Artist in Residence and Director of String Program at Orpheus Academy,

Violinist Carla Trynchuk has performed as soloist with orchestras throughout North America, including the Calgary Philharmonic (Alberta, Canada), New Westminster Symphony Orchestra (British Columbia, Canada), Kamloops Symphony Orchestra (British Columbia, Canada), Oakville Symphony Orchestra (Ontario, Canada), Carson City Symphony (NV), San Marcos Symphony Orchestra (AZ), Southwest Minnesota Orchestra, Thayer Symphony Orchestra (MA), Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, and Columbia Symphony Orchestra (OR).

Internationally, Ms. Trynchuk has performed as soloist with orchestras throughout Europe, including the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra (Croatia), Iaşi Philharmonic Orchestra (Romania), Banatul Philharmonic Orchestra (Timişoara, Romania), the National Philharmonic Orchestra (Moldova), the Bacau Philharmonic (Romania), Botoşani Philharmonic (Romania), and Oltenia Philharmonic (Craiova, Romania).

Ms. Trynchuk collaborated with Maestro Paul Freeman and the Czech National Philharmonic Orchestra in Prague for the world premiere recording of Tibor Serly’s Concerto for Violin.  The CD has been released on the Albany label.  Upcoming performances include the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Andrews University Symphony Orchestra and appearances with Camerata Philadelphia and Church of the Holy Trinity (PA), April 2012.

As a recitalist Ms. Trynchuk has collaborated with her sister Carmen Roberts on the piano in numerous performances, including performances in Canada, England, the United States and a five-city tour of India.

As an advocate of music by contemporary music, Ms. Trynchuk gave the premiere recording of Kittyhawk by the American composer Randall Davidson, has performed Robert MacBride’s Violin Concerto “Variety Day” and Hartmann’s Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra, Concerto funèbre.

A graduate of The Juilliard School of Music in New York City, Ms. Trynchuk was granted the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees studying under the legendary pedagogue Dorothy DeLay and Hyo Kang.

Ms. Trynchuk is Professor of Music and Director of the String Program at Andrews University, Michigan.  She has served as Faculty-Artist at numerous music festivals, has given master classes worldwide, and has served as an adjudicator for string and chamber music competitions and festivals throughout the United States and Canada.

TRAVIS HATTON, conductor

Travis Hatton serves as Principal Conductor of Orpheus Academy.

Mr. Hatton has proven to be one of the most versatile conductors of his generation. His wide interests have led him to work with opera companies, orchestras, chamber orchestras, choruses and bands. He has been called “A very gifted young conductor” by the late Georg Tintner.

As an opera conductor, he has appeared with opera companies in Europe as well as America. He has conducted over 200 opera and ballet performances. Mr. Hatton has conducted the Moravian Opera Theater (of Olomouc, the Czech Republic) in national tours of Germany conducting Verdi’s Aida on two different occasions. Of his performances of Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri at the Janacek National Opera Theater in Brno, critics wrote in national publications –

“I consider the biggest contribution to be the musical study, behind which was the young guest conductor Travis Hatton from the U.S. The orchestra under his leadership was a reliable support for the singers, which the soloists, in the fiery whirl of tempos and opulence of vocal embellishments, must have welcomed. The players articulated clearly and precisely; enough room was left for point of detail.” Vladimir Cech -

“The performance was studied musically by the young American Travis Hatton, whose careful work with the orchestra was obvious from the beginning of the overture, which had the right Rossini sparkle, and in excellent accompaniment of the soloists.” – Jindra Bartova.

Mr. Hatton held two posts during his five years in Europe (1992 -1997) – Conductor of the Moravian Opera Theater (Olomouc, the Czech Republic) and Artistic Director of the City Opera Theater of Usti nad Labem (also in the Czech Republic). Mr. Hatton conducted the Eugene (Oregon) Opera in a production of the Marriage of Figaro, and Amahl and the Night Visitors, Hansel and Gretel and The Magic Flute in Vancouver, Washington with the Vancouver Children’s Opera.

As an orchestral conductor, Mr. Hatton has appeared as a guest conductor with orchestras in Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic while in Europe. Professional orchestras he has appeared with there include orchestras in the towns of Zlin Brno, Olomouc, Pardubice, Hradec Karlove, Kosice, Zilina and Opole, Walbrzych and Worclaw in Poland. In the U.S., he has appeared with orchestras in Boston, Tennessee, Indiana, California, Alaska, Colorado, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, North Dakota, and Texas. Since arriving in the Portland area, he has appeared with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (3x), the Columbia Symphony Orchestra (2x), the Portland Festival Symphony, the Mt. Hood Pops Orchestra and the Rose City Chamber Orchestra(3x).

As a wind ensemble conductor, Mr. Hatton served as Interim Director of the Symphonic Band and taught classroom conducting at Oregon State University (1998-2000). While there, Mr. Hatton conducted the Oregon premier of Igor Stravinsky’s Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments.

As a teacher, in addition to his position at Oregon State University, Mr. Hatton was Assistant Conductor of Orchestras at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, Instructor in Conducting at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, and Conductor of the East Central Indiana Youth Symphony. He has also served as the On-Site Director of the International
Opera Workshop in Opava, the Czech Republic (1993-1997), organized by Symphonic Workshops, Ltd. of Toronto.

In the summer of 2012, Mr. Hatton made is first appearance with the Portland Festival Symphony Orchestra.  He was invited back to work with this orchestra again during the summer of 2013.  Also in the summer of 2013, Mr Hatton was invited to conduct  the premier performance of the Orpheus Academy Orchestra in Portland.  This is a group of advanced young players from the Portland metro area and is part of the newly established Portland Music Festival. Mr. Hatton has been invited to conduct the Orpheus Academy concerts in the summers of both 2014 and 2015.

Mr. Hatton holds a Bachelors of Music degree (awarded Magna Cum Laude) in Music Theory and Composition from the University of the Pacific and a Masters of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting from the New England Conservatory of Music. He is a lifetime member of two musical honors societies, and has been a participant in many conducting programs and workshops including Aspen, The Conductors Institute, and The Festival at Sandpoint. His teachers and instructors have included, Gunther Schuller, Carl St. Clair, Murray Sidlin, Harold Faurberman, Peiro Bellugi, and Leonard Atherton.

Mr. Hatton is the Music Director of the Sunnyside Symphony at the Sunnyside SDA Church in Portland, Oregon. He is also the Music Director of the Beaverton Symphony Orchestra, Director of Orchestras at Valley Catholic School in Beaverton, and the new Music Director of the Chehalem Symphony Orchestra in Newberg Oregon, in residence at George Fox University. He currently lives in Vancouver, Washington with his wife Lynelle and their 2 children, Kyle and Kara.

DAVID JACOBS, Resident Conductor

David Jocobs has been appointed new Resident Conductor starting with 2015 season.

Dr. David Jacobs began his career as an orchestral musician in 2000 and for seven seasons he played regularly with the Sarasota Orchestra as well as the renowned Sarasota Music Festival Orchestra. He also was a member of the Sarasota Opera Orchestra for three years and appeared regularly with the Southwest Florida Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, and New World Symphony.

In 2007, he began training as a conductor at the Eastman School of Music. There, he was the recipient of several conducting prizes, including the prestigious Frederick Fennell Fellowship for Advanced Conducting Study and the Walter Hagen prize for excellence in conducting. Throughout his residency, he conducted performances with almost every major ensemble including the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra, Eastman Wind Ensemble, Eastman Wind Orchestra, Graduate Conducting Orchestra, New Eastman Orchestra, and Ossia, the school’s student run contemporary sinfonietta.

Currently, Dr. Jacobs is the Director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Oregon where he conducts the symphony orchestra and teaches courses in conducting. Prior to that appointment, he was the Music Director of the PBA Symphony at Palm Beach Atlantic University, where he brought that orchestra to a heightened level of notoriety throughout the South Florida classical community. In addition to his posts with academic orchestras, Dr. Jacobs has also conducted several professional orchestras, here and abroad. In 2011, he earned one of seven coveted conducting fellowships at the Cabrillo New Music Festival where he worked with Marin Alsop. He also conducted the Richmond (VA) Symphony in workshop working with Joann Falleta and Gustav Meier. In 2010, he made his debut performance with the Palm Beach Symphony, sharing the podium with renowned conductor and concert pianist, Philippe Entremont, and conducted Tchaikovsky’s Symphony #5 with the St. Petersburg (Russia) State Symphony. In 2009, he was featured on local television conducting Beethoven in an open rehearsal with the Rochester Philharmonic during their annual Summer Institute.

Despite his young age, Dr. Jacobs has already been credited on three commercially available albums. He served as Assistant Conductor for “Manhattan Music,” a collaboration between the Canadian Brass and the Eastman Wind Ensemble, which was released in 2008 on the Opening Day label; Conductor for “Let Others Name You,” an eclectic fusion of contemporary orchestral music with Balinese Gamelan performed by the Ossia Chamber Orchestra on the New World Record label, released in the Fall of 2009; and music director of brass and trumpet performer on “We Proclaim,” a collection of worship music released by the Ekklesia label in 2011.

CHI YONG YUN, pianor

OMF Artist in Residence, Korean pianist Chi Yong Yun.

Yun was born in Seoul, Korea and moved to the US at the age of six. The recipient of many honors and awards, she received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees with honors from Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University as a Thomson Star Fellow.  As an undergraduate, she pursued dual degrees having been accepted into the prestigious Performers Diploma program.  Her piano studies at IU were under the tutelage of Edmund Battersby, Karen Shaw and Menahem Pressler.  Yun is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with the internationally acclaimed pianist Ian Hobson.  Her performances as a recitalist, collaborative musician, and lecturer, have taken her throughout United States, Korea, and Europe. The top prizewinner of numerous international and national competitions, she has been invited to participate in such music festivals and workshops as Deeper Piano Studies with Frederic Chiu, Aspen Music Festival, Folgarida Summer Festival, Prague and Shandelee International Piano Festivals.  She performed in masterclasses for legendary artists Leonard Hokanson, GyorgySebok, Abbey Simon, Janos Starker, Andre Watts, and Earl Wild.  Additional studies include voice with Camilla Williams, Alan Bennett, and Cynthia Hayman and in conducting with Carmen Tellez and David Effron. Prior to coming to Andrews University, she has held teaching positions at Indiana University, University of Illinois, and Illinois Wesleyan University. 

Yun gives frequent performances, masterclasses and lecture in US, Asia and Europe. She is a member of the American Piano Quintet and the Director of Piano Studies/assistant professor at Andrews University in Michigan.

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