Esteban Batallán

Esteban Batallán was appointed Principal Trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2019 by Music Director Riccardo Muti. Prior to this, he served as Principal Trumpet of the Hong Kong Philharmonic during the 2018 to 2019 season and held the same position with the Granada City Orchestra from 2002 to 2018.

He has also performed as Guest Principal Trumpet with the Royal Orchestra of Seville from 2010 to 2014, and with the Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala and the Filarmonica della Scala in 2015 and 2018.

Batallán has appeared with leading orchestras around the world, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gstaad Festival Orchestra, the Sinfonieorchester Basel, the Houston Symphony, and the Symphony Orchestra of India, among many others.

Throughout his career, he has worked with some of the world’s most renowned conductors, including Jaap van Zweden, Zubin Mehta, Bernard Haitink, Herbert Blomstedt, Michael Tilson Thomas, Christian Thielemann, Klaus Mäkelä, Jakub Hrusa, Paavo Järvi, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Daniele Gatti, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Riccardo Chailly, Alan Gilbert, Fabio Luisi, Charles Dutoit, Lahav Shani, and Giancarlo Guerrero.

As a soloist, Batallán has performed with major orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Granada City Orchestra, Spanish Radio Television Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic of Galicia, National Youth Orchestra of Spain, Gstaad Festival Orchestra, Geneva Camerata, Symphony Orchestra of India, and Bilbao Symphony Orchestra.

His repertoire includes a wide range of works, including compositions written specifically for him, as well as his own original compositions. In 2021, he premiered “Mr. Batallán,” a piece composed and dedicated to him by his friend, the renowned trumpet player Arturo Sandoval.

Batallán has won several prestigious competitions, including:

• Jeunesses Musicales of Spain Competition (2001)
• Yamaha Xeno National Competition (2002)
• Jeunesses Musicales of Europe Competition (2003)
• Yamaha International Competition (2003)

He was also a prizewinner at the Maurice André International Trumpet Competition in 2006.

Born in Barro, Galicia, Spain, Batallán began his musical studies at the age of seven at his local music school. He continued his education at the Pontevedra and Vigo Music Conservatories under Maestro Javier Viceiro.

In 1999, he joined the School of Musical Studies of Galicia, where he studied with Javier Simó, and in 2000 he was selected to join the National Youth Orchestra of Spain (JONDE).

Batallán has been heavily involved in education throughout his career. He served as a coach with the Youth Academy of the Granada City Orchestra for sixteen years and has led masterclasses at institutions including:

• Colburn School
• New England Conservatory
• Conservatory of Paris
• Vanderbilt University
• University of Illinois
• Rice University
• Curtis Institute of Music
• Cleveland Institute of Music
• University of Houston

He has also worked with major youth orchestras and academies worldwide, including those in Spain, the United States, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

From 2020 to 2022, he was a member of the Trumpet Faculty at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.

Esteban Batallán is currently a member of the Trumpet Faculty at DePaul University and serves as a coach for the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.

Batallán currently performs on the Bach C Trumpet, serial number 13959, formerly played by Adolph Herseth.