These concerts are the North Carolina Symphony debut for Pacho Flores.

Pacho Flores was awarded First Prize in the Maurice André International Competition as well as First Prize in the Philip Jones International Brass Ensemble Contest and First Prize in the Competition “Città di Porcia.” Trained in “El Sistema,” the Orchestra System for Youth and Children in Venezuela, he has performed internationally as a soloist with orchestras including the Philharmonic Orchestra of Kiev, St. Petersburg Camerata, Orchestral Ensemble of Paris, Orchestre de la Garde républicaine, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, and Düsseldorf Symphony.

An experienced orchestral musician, Flores has held the principal trumpet position in the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, Saito Kinen Orchestra from Japan, and Miami Symphony Orchestra. As one of the founding members of the Simón Bolívar Brass Quintet, he has taken part in numerous tours around Europe, South America, the United States, and Japan.

Founding Director of the Latin-American Trumpet Academy in Venezuela, Flores fosters a generation of young talents and promotes contemporary music. Recently he has toured Norway and Austria with the Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic and Christian Lindberg, interpreting Lindberg’s trumpet concerto Akbank Bunka.

Flores plays instruments that have been exclusively manufactured for him by Stomvi and is actively involved in the development and innovation of his instruments. His first album was La Trompeta Venezolana (2009), and he has released four recordings on Deutsche Grammophon: Cantar with Konzerthausorchester Berlin and Christian Vásquez; Entropía, Gold Medal winner of the Global Music Awards; Fractales with the Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic and Christian Lindberg; and the double CD/DVD Cantos y Revueltas with Real Filharmonía de Galicia and Manuel Hernández-Silva.