“Technically flawless, he’s totally under the skin of the composers’ idioms.” - The Strad

BIOGRAPHY

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).

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.

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.

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.

Cañón-Valencia's international solo career has taken him around the world to perform with such orchestras as the Mariinsky Orchestra with Valery Gergiev, Frankfurt Radio Orchestra with Christoph Eschenbach, Brussels Philharmonic with Stephane Deneve, SWR Symphonieorchester with Andris Poga, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra with Nikolai Alexeev, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony with Muhai Tang and Moscow Soloists Chamber Orchestra with Yuri Bashmet, as well as all of the major orchestras in his native Colombia.

Passionate about collaboration with living composers, Cañón-Valencia performed the world premiere of Carlos Izcaray's commissioned cello concerto Stringmaster as the featured soloist with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. He gave the Colombian premiere of Ginastera's Cello Concerto No. 2 with the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, premiered Jorge Pinzón's Cello Concerto "Rapsodia a los 4 Elementos" at the Cartagena International Music Festival, and premiered Friedrich Gulda's Cello Concerto in Auckland, New Zealand with the Auckland Chamber Orchestra.

As a recording artist, Cañón-Valencia enjoys immersing himself in known and unknown works, particularly in commissioning new pieces, arranging and composing. His latest recording, Ascenso, released in November 2022 on Sono Luminus, showcases pieces arranged and written by himself, plus works commissioned and written for him by contemporary Colombian composers. Earlier recordings include his acclaimed debut release Solo, an album with pianist Andrea Lucchesini dedicated to Schubert and Beethoven for the Egea Label and an album of Russian cello sonatas and popular pieces from the cello repertoire with pianist Katherine Austin for the Atoll label.

Cañón-Valencia’s primary musical mentors have been Henryk Zarzycki in Colombia, James Tennant in New Zealand, Andres Diaz in the United States and Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt at the Kronberg Academy in Germany. He has been sponsored by the Mayra & Edmundo Esquenazi Scholarship through the Salvi Foundation since 2011.

Last edited: 12/24

CONCERTS

APR 4, BOGOTA, COL

Dvorak Cello Concerto with Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Colombia

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APR 18, BOGOTA, COL

TEATRO COLÓN

Recital with Edwin Guevara (guitar) & Sergei Sichkov (piano)

Works by: Benzecry, Ginastera, Golijov, Guevara, Márquez & Cañón-Valencia

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APR 19, BOGOTA, COL

TEATRO ESTUDIO JULIO MARIO SANTODOMINGO

Recital with Edwin Guevara (guitar) & Sergei Sichkov (piano)

Works by: Benzecry, Ginastera, Golijov, Guevara, Márquez & Cañón-Valencia

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MAY 15-17, KRONBERG, GER

CASALS FORUM

Guest artist at Chamber Music Connects the World Festival.

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JUN 21, ROCKPORT - MA, USA

SHALIN LIU PERFORMANCE CENTER

Recital with Marmen Quartet. Works by: Bach, Schubert

jul 5, brevard - NC, USA

BREVARD MUSIC CENTER

Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 with Brevard Sinfonia & Cond. Chloé van Soeterstède

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