Esteban Batallán was appointed principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2019 by Maestro Riccardo Muti. He was previously the principal trumpet of the Hong Kong Philharmonic during the 2018–19 season and the Granada City Orchestra from 2002 to 2018. He also served as guest principal trumpet with the Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala and the Filarmonica della Scala in 2015 and 2018.
Batallán has appeared with distinguished orchestras around the world, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Gstaad Festival Orchestra, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Houston Symphony and Symphony Orchestra of India, among others.
He has worked under esteemed conductors such as Jaap van Zweden, Zubin Mehta, Bernard Haitink, Herbert Blomstedt, Michael Tilson Thomas, Christian Thielemann, Klaus Mäkelä, Jakub Hrůša, Paavo Järvi, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Riccardo Chailly and Neeme Jarvi.
He has also appeared as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Granada City Orchestra, Spanish Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic of Galicia, Gstaad Festival Orchestra, Geneva Camerata, Symphony Orchestra of India, and the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra in a large variety of works, including his own compositions and concertos written for him.
In 2021, Batallán premiered a piece dedicated to him, composed by his dear friend and renowned trumpet player, Arturo Sandoval, titled Mr. Batallán.
Batallán is the winner of several prestigious competitions, including the Jeunesses Musicales of Spain Competition (2001), Yamaha Xeno National Competition (2002), Jeunesses Musicales of Europe Competition (2003) and the Yamaha International Competition (2003). He was also a prizewinner at the 2006 Maurice André International Trumpet Competition.
A native of the town of Barro in Galicia, Spain, Esteban Batallán began his musical studies at age seven at the school of music in his hometown. He continued his training at the Pontevedra Music Conservatory and the Vigo Music Conservatory. In 1999, he entered the School of Musical Studies of Galicia, and in 2000, he was selected to be a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Spain (JONDE).
Batallán served as a coach with the Youth Academy of the Granada City Orchestra for sixteen years. He has led masterclasses at Colburn School, New England Conservatory, National Conservatory of Paris, Rice University, Curtis Institute of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, University of Houston and groups from the National Youth Orchestra of Spain, National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and Taipei Music Academy and Festival, as well as other brass festivals around the world.
He was a member of the trumpet faculty of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University from 2020 until 2022. Currently, Batallán is a member of the trumpet faculty at DePaul University, a coach of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and a member of the Chicago Symphony Brass Quintet.
www.estebanbatallan.com
