Santiago Cañón-Valencia has been praised as one of the most promising young cellists of his generation. Winner of the Silver Medal and “Audience Favourite” Award at the 2019 XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition and the 2018 Starker Foundation Award, Mr. Cañón-Valencia has been a fixture of the International Cello Competition scene for many years. He was awarded third prize at the prestigious Queen Elisabeth International Competition 2017 in Brussels.
Mr. Cañón-Valencia made his orchestral debut as a soloist when he was six years old with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá. Since then, he has appeared with all the major orchestras in his native Colombia and his international solo career has taken him around the world to perform with orchestras such as the Mariinsky Orchestra with Valery Gergiev, Brussels Philharmonic with Stephane Deneve, Moscow Soloists with Yuri Bashmet, Münchener Kammerorchester with Clemens Schuldt and Antwerp Symphony with Muhai Tang, among others.