Music on the Strait Opening Night: Virtuoso Flutist Demarre McGill plays Debussy & Beach

• Demarre McGill, flute
• Elisa Barston, violin
• James Garlick, violin
• David Auerbach, viola
• Efe Baltacıgil, cello
• Jeremy Denk, piano

To celebrate opening night, Music on the Strait celebrates the artistry of Demarre McGill, principal flute of the Seattle Symphony, and one of the greatest flutists of his generation. We are also pleased to welcome back Port Angeles favorites Elisa Barston and Jeremy Denk for César Franck's fiery and tumultuous Piano Quintet.

6:15pm pre-concert talk with Classic KING FM 98.1's Lisa Bergman

Free livestream available at musiconthestrait.com.

COVID-19 Protocols: Masks required.

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About Music on the Strait

Music on the Strait celebrates chamber music in the singularly beautiful environment of the Olympic Peninsula and Salish Sea. Founded in Port Angeles in 2018 by locally-raised musicians James Garlick and Richard O'Neill in partnership with the Port Angeles Symphony, Music on the Strait aims to share chamber music, both its traditions and its emerging voices, through community programming and educational outreach.

About Demarre McGill, flute

One of the world’s leading flutists, Demarre serves as Principal Flute of the award-winning Seattle Symphony as well as Associate Professor of Flute, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. His many appearances span the continent and include concerto, recital, chamber festival, and National Flute Society Featured-Artist engagements.

As an educator, Demarre has performed, coached, and presented master classes in South Africa, Korea, Japan, Quebec, and throughout the United States; appeared as speaker and performer at the 2018 League of American Orchestras Conference with his brother, clarinetist Anthony McGill; and has served on the faculties of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States, the National Orchestral Institute (NOI) at the University of Maryland, the Orford Music Festival, and Summerfests at the Curtis Institute of Music.

Mr. McGill is a graduate of Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School.

About Elisa Barston, violin

http://www.seattlesymphony.org/about/meetthemusicians/theorchestra/artists/orchestra%20order/second%20violin/barston-elisa

About James Garlick, violin

https://www.macalester.edu/music/studio-instructors/

About David Auerbach, viola

Violist David Auerbach has cultivated a fulfilling and varied performing and teaching career since moving to Minnesota in 2007. He is currently in his fifth one-year position with the Minnesota Orchestra (for the 2021-22 season). David has also been the top substitute with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra for many years, and recently performed on several of their livestream chamber music broadcasts. He was previously the principal violist of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, and has played regularly with many other local ensembles. David frequently performs elsewhere in the country; he has played several weeks with the Pittsburgh Symphony, including a European tour, and is a regular guest of the Boston-based chamber orchestra A Far Cry. David is an avid chamber musician, and participates annually in the Black Hills Chamber Music Festival (in Rapid City, SD), the Lakes Area Music Festival (in Brainerd, MN), and the Festival of the Lakes (in Alexandria, MN); he has also participated in the chamber music festivals of Skaneateles, Ravinia, Kneisel Hall, Norfolk, and Madeline Island.

David joined the faculty of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul in 2012, and also maintains a private teaching studio; during the pandemic, he created an online studio and has worked with many students of all ages and abilities across the country. He has given numerous master classes and coachings at schools and universities in the U.S. and Canada, and is a regular sectionals coach for both of the Twin Cities' youth symphony programs. David earned a DMA from Stony Brook University, where he was a scholarship student of Katherine Murdock. Additionally, he received a Masters Degree from the Juilliard School, studying with Samuel Rhodes, and a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with majors in Music Performance (studying with Sally Chisholm) and Molecular Biology.

About Efe Baltacıgil, cello

Principal Cello of the Grammy-winning Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Turkey’s String Player of the Year, 2013, and awardee of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, Mr. Baltacıgil is lauded for his risk-taking, passionate performances that immediately capture the heart and imagination.

Recipient of the Peter Jay Sharp Prize, the Washington Performing Arts Society Prize, and first prize in concerto competitions of Istanbul, New York, and the Allentown, Pennsylvania Schadt String Competition, Baltacıgil experienced early acclaim as winner of the 2005 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. Recipient of a bachelor’s degree from the Mimar Sinan University Conservatory in Istanbul and an artist diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, Efe began his professional career in the United States as Associate Principal Cello of the Philadelphia Orchestra before joining the Seattle Symphony as Principal Cello in 2011.

About Jeremy Denk, piano

https://jeremydenk.net/