A native of Puerto Rico, José Ramos Santana is one of the most acclaimed pianists of his generation and an acknowledged master of Spanish music. Santana has appeared as a guest soloist with major orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, Detroit Symphony, Saint Louis Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, 92nd Street Y Orchestra, the New York Virtuosi, Casals Festival Orchestra, Puerto Rico Symphony, and the orchestras of New Mexico, Sioux City, Utah, Syracuse, and many others. Additional solo performances include the Moscow Philharmonic Latin American tour, Orchestra of L'Hermitage of Saint Petersburg, the Orchestra of Guatemala, the Orchestra of San Salvador, and the Orquestra de los Reyes in Lima, Peru. He has collaborated with distinguished conductors such as Krzsztoff Penderecki, John Adams, Dennis Russell Davies, Jerzy Semkow, Dimitri Kitaenko, and Joseph Silverstein.
His much lauded guest appearance with the American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall during the Sonidos de las Americas Festival was his third Carnegie Hall performance in one year. Ramos Santana also has performed at Zankel Hall and the Weill Recital Hall, under the auspices of La Gesse Foundation. A top prize winner of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition and a participant in the Xerox Piano Artist’s Program, he has appeared in music festivals such as Spoleto, Caramoor, Casals Festival, Grant Park Festival in Chicago, International Keyboard and Institute Festival at Mannes College, Washington International Piano Festival, Inter-American Music Festival in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the Amalfi Coast Music Festival in Italy. His recitals have taken him to major venues throughout the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Central America, and the Far East. He has been featured in documentaries on the PBS network, A&E channel, and CBS Sunday Morning.
Ramos Santana is also an established recording artist. His world premiere of “Glosas” by Roberto Sierra on the Fleur de Son Label received critical acclaim. His collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra also includes recordings of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G and Saint-Saens’s Piano Concerto in G Minor, op. 22. He also has recorded the complete works for piano and violin by the Spanish Catalonian composer Xavier Montsalvage with violinist Eva Leon on the Naxos Label.
An active member of Musica de Camara, Inc., Ramos Santana has served as jury member of the Rosalyn Tureck International Bach Competition for Young Pianists, Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition, Liszt-Garrison International Piano Competition, Louisiana International Piano Competition, and the William Kapell International Piano Competition’s selection jury.
Ramos Santana is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where he studied with Adele Marcus, William Masselos, and Sylvia Rabinof. He also has coached with Leon Fleisher and Alicia de Larrocha. He is professor and chair of piano at the Hartt School of Music and a member of the piano faculty at New York University.
