Hometown: Salvador, Brazil

A native of Salvador, Brazil, violinist/violist Yuri Santos is a distinguished performer recognized for his versatility with solo, orchestral, and chamber music repertoire. He was recently appointed Concertmaster of the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra and Assistant Principal Violist of the Fort Collins Symphony. 

Yuri’s accolades include first prizes at the Beethoven-Haus Bonn String Quartet Competition, Macauley Chamber Music Competition, and the South Florida Young Artist Solo Competition, as well as the Music Society of Coral Lakes and Edward H. Benenson Awards. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, Bachiana Filarmônica Sesi-São Paulo, and Orquestra Antunes Câmara. His summer festival engagements include the Music Academy of the West, Music in the Vineyards, Britten-Pears Chamber Music, and Meadowmount School of Music. 

An active chamber musician, Yuri has performed extensively across the United States, Europe, and Brazil, collaborating with renowned artists such as Jeremy Denk, Afendi Yusuf, Louis Lortie, Clive Greensmith, Arnaud Sussmann, Jonathan Brown, Andrés Díaz, Peter Bruns, and the Calidore Quartet. He was a member of the Lírios Quartet, named Emerging Artist Quartet in Residence at the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis and the Graduate String Quartet in Residence at the University of Colorado Boulder, where, for two years, they were under the mentorship of the Takács Quartet. 

Yuri began his musical studies at the age of eight under the tutelage of his father, Ênio Antunes. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at the Colburn School under Tatjana Masurenko. Past mentors include Richard O’Neill, Erika Eckert, Mark Holloway, Kevork Mardirossian, and Mauricio Fuks.