Colombian cellist Santiago Cañón-Valencia is a prolific soloist, composer, commissioner, recording artist, painter and photographer. A 2022 BBC Next Generation Artist, he was born in Bogotá in 1995 and made his debut with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá at age six before going on to win the Silver Medal at the 2019 XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition, the 2018 Starker Foundation Award, Third Prize at the 2017 Queen Elisabeth International Competition and First Prize at the Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition, among many other prizes.
After a summer of recitals in the U.K., Germany, Italy, Spain, and Korea, Cañón-Valencia launches his 2024-2025 season with the Camerata Pacifica on a Californian tour with Paul Huang and Gilles Vonsattel. He performs as a featured soloist across Europe, including concerts with the Orchestra of Extremadura led by Juan Pablo Valencia in Spain and the Niederbayerische Philharmonic conducted by Ektoras Tartanis in Germany. In North America, he returns to the Phoenix Symphony with conductor Julian Rachlin and Symphony Nova Scotia with conductor Holly Mathieson in Halifax, Canada. He also makes his debut in a recital presented by The Phillips Collection with pianist Victor Asunción in Washington, D.C.
Last season highlights include his Wigmore Hall recital debut; broadcasts with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Ulster Orchestra; debuts with the Danish Chamber Orchestra and Belgrade Philharmonic; returns to the Latvian National Orchestra, RTVE Orchestra, and Belgrade Philharmonic; U.S. recitals; a return to the Alabama Symphony; the Mostly Cello Festival in Korea; and performances in Colombia to celebrate his latest album Ascenso (2022, Sono Luminus) and perform with the National Symphony Orchestra. In summer 2024, he celebrated the 100th birthday of Janos Starker in Korea and Japan.
Cañón-Valencia’s solo career has taken him worldwide, and he has recorded and released four commercial albums. He premiered Carlos Izcaray’s Stringmaster with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Jorge Pinzón’s Cello Concerto at the Cartagena International Music Festival and Friedrich Gulda’s Cello Concerto with the Auckland Chamber Orchestra. He gave the Colombian premiere of Ginastera’s Cello Concerto No. 2.
Cañón-Valencia has been sponsored by the Mayra & Edmundo Esquenazi Scholarship through the Salvi Foundation since 2011.
