Esteban Batallán was became principal trumpet of The Philadelphia Orchestra in September 2024. He was previously principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 2019 to 2024, of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra during the 2018-19 season, and of the Granada City Orchestra from 2002 to 2018. He also served 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.
Mr. Batallán has appeared with distinguished symphonic orchestras around the world including The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw 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 others. During this time, he worked under esteemed 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.
Mr. Batallán has performed as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Granada City Orchestra, the Spanish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic of Galicia, the National Youth Orchestra of Spain, the Gstaad Festival Orchestra, the Geneva Camerata, the Symphony Orchestra of India, and the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra in a large variety of works, including concertos written for him and his own compositions. In 2021 he premiered Mr. Batallán, composed by and dedicated to him by his friend and renowned trumpet player, Arturo Sandoval.
Mr. Batallán is the winner of several prestigious competitions, including the Jeunesses Musicales of Spain Competition (2001), the Yamaha Xeno National Competition (2002), the 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, Mr. Batallán began his musical studies at the age of seven at the school of music in his hometown. He continued his training at the Pontevedra Music Conservatory and the Vigo Music Conservatory under the supervision of Javier Viceiro. In 1999, he entered the School of Musical Studies of Galicia, where he participated in master classes with Javier Simó. In 2000, he was selected to be a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Spain.
Mr. Batallán served as coach with the Youth Academy of the Granada City Orchestra for 16 years and has led master classes at the Colburn School, the New England Conservatory, the Paris Conservatory, Vanderbilt University, the University of Illinois, Rice University, the Curtis Institute of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the University of Houston, and groups from the National Youth Orchestra of Spain, the Youth Orchestra of Andalusia, the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and the Taipei Music Academy & 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, he is a member of the trumpet faculty of DePaul University and coach of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.