ABOUT SANTIAGO

Clarinetist

Santiago Del Curto, an eighteen-year-old clarinetist, has established himself as a dynamic and versatile young artist. With national and international engagements, he has appeared at leading festivals including the Aspen Music Festival, Festival de Música dos Capuchos in Portugal, Stowe Tango Music Festival, Aston Magna Music Festival, Caramoor Music Festival, and Salida Aspen Concerts, as well as several appearances in Carnegie Hall, as well as performances in David Geffen Hall, Verizon Hall, Alice Tully Hall, New World Center and the National Theater Concert Hall in Taiwan.

As a soloist, Santiago has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Williamsport Symphony Orchestra, Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, and Queens Symphony Orchestra.

Recent highlights include a solo performance of Florence Price’s Adoration with The Philadelphia Orchestra, a concert at David Geffen Hall with the New York Philharmonic for their 2024 Spring Gala, a performance at New World Center as a 2026 YoungArts Winner with Distinction in Classical Music, a broadcast with pianist Peter Dugan on NPR’s From the Top as a Learning and Media Lab Fellow, a performance of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto as the Kaufman Music Center Concerto Competition Winner, and a featured solo appearance with the Queens Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Martin Majkut at LeFrak Concert Hall at the Kupferberg Center for the Arts.

As an orchestral musician, Santiago has performed with the New York Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, NYO-USA, and NYO2, under conductors including Gustavo Dudamel, Marin Alsop, Mei-Ann Chen, Joseph Young, and Andrew J. Kim. He currently serves as principal clarinetist of the New York Youth Symphony Orchestra.

After hearing Santiago perform in kindergarten, Latin jazz legend Paquito D’Rivera composed Blues for Santi for him. Since then, Santiago has performed with Mr. D’Rivera at the Montclair Jazz Festival, the Martina Arroyo Foundation Gala, and the Blue Note in New York City, and was featured alongside him in a Vandoren YouTube video.

Santiago’s live performances from the Aspen Music Festival have aired nationwide on the Peabody Award-winning radio program Performance Today. At eight years old, he recorded Piazzolla’s Oblivion on the award-winning album Live at the 2016 Stowe Tango Music Festival.

He has participated in the Clarinet Maestro Festival, studying with Yehuda Gilad, Afendi Yusuf, Eric Abramovitz, and other faculty, and has taken masterclasses with Stephen Williamson, Gregory Raden, and Ricardo Morales.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Santiago began composing electronic music under the artist name 27 Diamond, with his works reaching over a hundred thousand streams on Spotify and other platforms. In addition to his musical pursuits, he runs DCPCNYC, a custom PC company where he builds, repairs, and refurbishes computers.

Santiago is a proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship at The Juilliard School. He formerly studied with Pavel Vinnitsky and Pascual Martinez-Forteza and currently studies with Anthony McGill at The Juilliard School, where he is pursuing his Bachelor of Music degree. He was born in Brooklyn, New York.