NEW TO YOUTUBE | VC Young Artist Santiago Cañón Valencia Performs J.S. Bach's Suite No. 6

The performance is part of Cañón Valencia's "Bach During Lockdown" project, which he recorded from his bedroom in Colombia

VC Young Artist Santiago Cañón Valencia saw the pandemic's stay-at-home orders as an opportunity to branch out into something new. Upon receiving a commission from the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá to record a performance for their online concert series, Cañón Valencia knew exactly which pieces he wanted to select.

"I had absolute freedom regarding repertoire and concept and since I didn’t have any live concerts happening during most of 2020, I decided to take on the challenge of recording all the Bach suites in my room at my home in Colombia," Cañón Valencia told The Violin Channel.

In order to challenge himself to learn some new skills, Cañón Valencia decided to take charge of every aspect of the recording process, including the sound, editing, and filming.

"Often most musicians rely too much on other people when it comes to creating a recording, whether it’s just audio or video, and that’s something that I think set some people back during 2020," Cañón Valencia said of the editing process.

However, 2020 also provided an opportunity for musicians to develop greater skill and literacy in disciplines such as recording, which Cañón Valencia sees as "something positive that we can take from a dreadful year."

When it comes to the question of whether Cañón Valencia will return to the Bach Suites later in his career, his response is unequivocal.

"Yes, I will definitely re-record the whole set of Bach’s suites!" he says. "As musicians and artists, we are always developing and changing our interpretations and ideas and I think it’s great to showcase our evolution through recordings."

You can view Santiago Cañón Valencia's other recordings of the Bach Suites, here.