James Baik
About this Artist
James Baik, 20, is a Bachelor of Music candidate at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, where he studies with Clive Greensmith. James began studying the cello at the age of eight in his hometown of Houston, Texas. James would go on to solo with multiple orchestras in the Houston area, along with reaching the finals of the Lynn Harrell Competition at the age of 15, under the tutelage of Christopher French.
In the 2017-2018 school year, James began studying privately with Hans Jorgen Jensen in the Chicago area. James would win the 2018 DePaul Concerto Competition and reach the finals at the 2018 Johansen International Competition in Washington D.C. At the end of 2018, James was named a YoungArts finalist and was invited to YoungArts Week in Miami, Florida, while also being awarded the grand prize at the Walgreens National Competition, resulting in a solo performance at Northwestern University. In the following year, James was a finalist at the 2019 Stulberg International String Competition and would go on to receive the first prize at the prestigious Irving M. Klein International Competition in June of 2019.
During 2020, James won the Colburn Concerto Competition and will subsequently solo Dvorak’s Cello Concerto with the Colburn Orchestra in the 2021-2022 season.
An avid soloist, James most recently performed the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Pasadena Symphony in May of 2021 and has worked with the Peninsula Symphony, the Music of the Vineyards Festival, and other concert series to give virtual concerts throughout this past year. James’ upcoming concerts include engagements with the Santa Cruz Symphony and the Gualala Chamber Series.
As an active chamber musician, James has worked with many notable chamber musicians such as Noah Bendix Balgley, David Finckel, Wu Han, Emanuel Ax, members of the Tokyo String Quartet, the American String Quartet, the Pacifica String Quartet, and the Escher String Quartet. James attended the Meadowmount School of Music and the Aspen Music Festival, where he participated in the Finckel Wu Han Chamber Music Program, and was invited as a guest artist for the 2020 Music of the Vineyards Festival in Napa Valley.