Santiago Blanco Cabaleiro

Santiago Blanco has held the Principal Trombone position at the Navarra Symphony Orchestra in Pamplona (Spain) since 2008. Previously, he was the Assistant Principal trombone at that same orchestra, a position that he obtained at the age of 19.

 Santiago has collaborated with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the legendary Chicago Symphony Brass, the Porto National Orchestra (Portugal), the Spanish National Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Region of Valencia, the Royal Philharmonic of Galicia, the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra and the Galicia Symphony Orchestra, among others. Moreover, he has been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Chicago Trombone Consort, Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra, Music Masters Course Orchestra Festival (Japan), Junger Künstler FestivalOrchestra in Bayreuth (Germany), and the Spanish National Youth Orchestra.All of this allowed him to play under the baton of prestigious maestros like B. Haitink, K. Nagano, V. Gergiev, P. Boulez, S. Bychkov, J. Mena, A. Zedda, M. Chung, A. Gilbert, D. Harding, L. Langrée or J. López Cobos.

 Born in Vigo, a city in the northwest of Spain, Santiago obtained his Bachelor’s Degree at the conservatory of his hometown under the guidance of maestro Feliciano Morales. After, he moved to Chicago, IL to study a Masters in Orchestral Studies with maestro Jay Friedman (Principal, Chicago Symphony). At Roosevelt, Santiago won the Concerto Competition and performed the F. David Concertino with the Roosevelt University Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jay Friedman. Afterward, he was admitted to the prestigious Northwestern University and earned a Certificate in Trombone Performance with maestros Michael Mulcahy, Charles Vernon and Peter Ellefson. He also participated in numerous masterclasses from maestros Mark Fisher, Larry Zalkind, Gene Pockorny, Ingemar Roos, Rex Martin, James Markey, Steven Witser, Rubén Prades, Hans Stroecker, Olaf Ott, and Michel Becquet.

 His solo performances include the Nino Rota Concerto with the Navarra Symphony Orchestra, the L. Gröndahl Concerto with the Vigo Classical Orchestra and the F. David Concertino with the Galicia Symphony Orchestra, the latter on the occasion of the 40^thAnniversary of the Fundación Pedro Barrié de la Maza, the institution that supported him with a scholarship to study in the United States.

 As a pedagogue, Santiago is frequently invited to hold masterclasses at numerous conservatories and schools of music. He has also been a coach at various youth orchestras like the Galicia Youth Symphony, Euskadi Student Orchestra, University of Navarra Orchestra, Vigo430 Youth Orchestra and the Contemporary Academy at the Via Stellae Festival.