A Virtuoso of the Cello
Colombian cellist Santiago Cañón-Valencia is a prolific soloist, composer, commissioner, recording artist, painter, and photographer described as «technically flawless… totally under the skin of the composers’ idioms» (The Strad). Named a BBC Next Generation Artist in 2022, Cañón-Valencia was born in Bogotá in 1995 and made his orchestral debut as a soloist when he was six years old with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, blossoming into an accomplished musician praised as «an artist from whom sound and texture flow with ease and authenticity» (The Whole Note) and «one of the most promising young cellists» (Forbes Colombia).
A Global Tour in 2024-2025
After a summer of recitals in the U.K., Germany, Italy, and Spain, Cañón-Valencia launches his 2024-2025 season with the Camerata Pacifica on a California tour with Paul Huang and Gilles Vonsattel. He performs as a featured soloist across Europe, including concerts with the Sinfonica de Galicia led by Jose Miguel Perez Sierra and the Niederbayerische Philharmonic conducted by Ektoras Tartanis in Germany. In North America, he joins the Phoenix Symphony with conductor Julian Rachlin and the Augusta Symphony with Dirk Meyer. He also makes his debut in a recital presented by The Phillips Collection with pianist Victor Asunción in Washington, D.C.
Highlights of the 2023-2024 Season
Cañón-Valencia’s 2023-2024 season highlights included his debut at London’s Wigmore Hall and Seoul Philharmonic, a St. George’s Bristol recital with pianist Naoko Sonoda, and a debut with the Belgrade Philharmonic. He appeared at New Generation Artist Showcase concerts and broadcasts with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Ulster Orchestra. In the U.S., he performed at the International Cello Institute, San Diego’s Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, Massachusetts’s Shalin Liu Performance Center, and the Alabama Symphony. He featured at the Mostly Cello Festival in South Korea before returning to Colombia for concerts celebrating his album, Ascenso, and a performance with the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia. In the summer of 2024, he celebrated the 100th birthday of Janos Starker in LOTTE Concert Hall with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra in South Korea and Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
An Impressive List of Awards
Among his many accolades, Cañón-Valencia was Silver Medalist and «Audience Favorite» at the 2019 XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition; recipient of the 2018 Starker Foundation Award; Third Prize honoree at the 2017 Queen Elisabeth International Competition; First Prize winner at the Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition, Beijing International Music Competition, Gisborne International Music Competition, and Lennox International Young Artists Competition; and a significant prize-winner of the Sphinx, Casals, Johansen, Cassadó, and Adam Competitions.
