Cellist Santiago Cañón-Valencia performs in the final of the Queen Elisabeth Competition 2017

Colombian cellist Santiago Cañón-Valencia performs Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto with the Brussels Philharmonic conducted by Stéphane Denève in the final of the 2017 Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition – where he won third prize of €17,000 and concert opportunities.

Currently pursuing a master's degree at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt in Weimar under Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, the 22-year-old cellist has won prizes in a number of contests, including the Beijing International Competition, the Johansen International Competition, the Cassado Competition, the Pablo Casals Competition and the Prieto Competition in Mexico.

Watch: Cellist Victor Julien-Laferrière gives winning performance at Queen Elisabeth Competition 2017

Watch: Second prize winner Yuya Okamoto performs in the final of the Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition