Santiago Cañón-Valencia was born in Bogotá, Colombia in 1995 and made his orchestral solo debut at age six with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá. His principal teachers included Henryk Zarzycki, James Tennant, Andres Diaz, and Wolfgang-Emanuel Schmidt at the Kronberg Academy in Germany.

Cañón-Valencia won the Silver Medal and Audience Favorite prize at the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition and Third Prize at the 2017 Queen Elisabeth International Competition, along with first prizes at several other international cello competitions. Named a BBC Next Generation Artist in 2022, he has performed with orchestras including the Mariinsky Orchestra and Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and released recordings including the 2022 album Ascenso featuring his own arrangements and contemporary Colombian works.