This Just In: The following is a news release written by an arts organization, submitted to and edited by Chicago On the Aisle.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director Riccardo Muti has announced the appointment of Esteban Batallán as principal trumpet of the CSO. Batallán will hold The Adolph Herseth Principal Trumpet Chair, endowed by an anonymous benefactor. He recently completed the final phase of the audition process, which included a trial period with Muti and the CSO this month, and he officially steps into the role on September 30, 2019, pending finalization of contract details.

Batallán has played with the CSO as guest principal trumpet on several occasions. He first appeared with the orchestra under Riccardo Muti in June 2018 subscription concerts that included performances of Rossini’s Stabat mater. He returned to perform with Muti and the CSO in Verdi’s Requiem on November 2018 subscription concerts, as well as in Tokyo during the 2019 Asia tour. More recently, he performed with Muti and the CSO on its 2019 Florida Tour, as well as in June 2019 for Verdi’s Aida before winning the audition that same month.

Prior to his appointment to the CSO, Batallán served as principal trumpet of the Hong Kong Philharmonic for the 2018-19 season and for the Orchestra of the City of Granada from 2002 to 2018. He also served as the guest principal trumpet with the Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala and the Filarmonica della Scala from 2015 to 2018 in addition to his role as guest principal trumpet of the Royal Orchestra of Seville from 2010 to 2014.

You can catch a glimpse of him playing “Granada” in this YouTube video:

Batallán rose to international acclaim after winning several prestigious competitions including the Jeunesses Musicales of Spain Competition in 2001, Yamaha Xeno National Competition in 2002, the Yamaha International Competition in 2003 and was a prizewinner at the 2006 Maurice André International Trumpet Competition. Batallán has also appeared with distinguished orchestras around the world including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and has worked under esteemed conductors including Jaap van Zweden, Zubin Mehta, Bernard Haitink, Vladmir Ashkenazy and Riccardo Chailly, among others.

A native of Barro, Spain, Batallán began his musical studies at the age of seven, continuing his training at the Conservatory of Music in Ponevedra and the Conservatory of Music of Vigo with Javier Viceiro. In 1999, he attended Galicia’s School of Music Studies where he participated in master classes with Javier Simó and he was selected as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Spain in 2000.

Batallán is also a dedicated teacher, having served on the faculty of the Young Academy of the Orchestra of the City of Granada for the past 16 years and leading master classes for groups from the National Youth Orchestra of Spain, the Youth Orchestra of Andalusia, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and Roosevelt University.