James Baik
Cello
James Baik, 19, is a Bachelor of Music candidate at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, where he studies with Clive Greensmith. James began playing the cello at the age of eight in his hometown, Houston, TX. James would go on to solo with multiple local orchestras in the Houston area, along with reaching the finals of the Lynn Harrell Competition at the age of 15. In the 2017-2018 school year, James started studying privately with Hans Jorgen Jensen. In that year, 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 participated at 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 Irving Klein International String Competition in June of 2019.
This past school year, Baik won the 2020 Colburn Concerto Competition and will subsequently play with the Colburn Orchestra in the 2021-2022 season. James has attended the Meadowmount School of Music, the Aspen Music Festival, where he attended 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.