From Venezuela, trumpeter Pacho Flores

Francisco “Pacho” Flores is a first-prize winner of the Maurice André International Competition, the world’s most important trumpet contest, as well as the winner of the first prize at the International Competition Philip Jones and first prize at the International Competition Citta di Porcia.

Recently he was awarded a gold medal at the Global Music Awards for “Entropia” (Deutsche Grammophon) with guitarist Jesús “Pingüino” González.

An alumnus of the ground-breaking El Sistema training program, Pacho Flores has been recognized for his performing and recording activity spanning the solo, chamber and orchestral formats. Equally at home in classical and folk styles, Flores captivates audiences with his energetic delivery and colorful tone. He will appear with Mexico’s Sinfónica de Minería in an SCP Featured Concert on Jan. 18 at Symphony Center.

His solo performances include appearances with orchestras such as Turku Philharmonic, Arctic Philharmonic, Norrköping Symphony, Norddeutschen Philharmonie Rostock, Salzburg Philharmonic, Kiev Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Camerata, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, NHK Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, Osaka Philharmonic, Hyogo PAC Orchestra, Sinfónica Nacional de México, Sinfónica Nacional de Puerto Rico, Filarmónica de Málaga, Sinfónica de Baleares, Real Filharmonía de Galicia, Sinfónica de Bilbao, Sinfónica de Tenerife and Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela. In recital, he has performed in venues such as the New York Carnegie Hall, the Paris Salle Pleyel and the Tokyo Opera City.

A founding member of the Venezuelan Simón Bolívar Brass Quintet, he has toured with the quintet in Europe, South America, the United States and Japan. An experienced orchestral musician, Flores has played first trumpet in the Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela, the Saito Kinen Orchestra and the Miami Symphony under Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, Seiji Ozawa, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Gustavo Dudamel, among others.

A founding director of the Latin American Trumpet Academy in Caracas, Flores mentors a generation of budding musicians and is a frequent guest at conservatories in Finland, Spain, France, Japan and Latin America, as permanent jury member in prestigious international competitions.

Flores is an avid champion of new music and bringing about important innovations to trumpet performance and fabrication. His repertoire includes commissions and premieres of works by composers such as Roger Boutry, Efraín Oscher, Giancarlo Castro, Santiago Báez, Juan Carlos Nuñez, Sergio Bernal, Arturo Márquez, Roberto Sierra and Paquito D’Rivera.

A Stomvi artist, he performs with instruments tailored specially for him by this prestigious firm and actively participates in the development and innovation of their instruments. Flores is an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist with four recordings in his catalog: “Estirpe,” with Sinfónica de Minería and Carlos Miguel Prieto; “Cantar,” with Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin and Christian Vásquez, and “Entropía,” and “Fractales,” with the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra and Christian Lindberg.