A sonic bridge between diaspora nostalgia and roots music: from Aldemaro Romero's Fuga con Pajarillo to Tonada de Luna Llena and El Cruzao. Crowdfunded at the end of 2023.
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Cellist · Trujillo → Caracas → Graz → Catania
SantoScala Mora
From the Simón Bolívar Orchestra to the stages of Vienna and Graz.
Third generation in a family of musicians. Trained at UNEARTE and the Kunstuniversität Graz, he moves between the symphony orchestra, European chamber music and Venezuelan roots repertoire, and teaches where music still doesn't reach.
Origin
The house he was born into had one simple rule: each child would follow an art. His arrived through his father's hands: a cellist, conductor and luthier in Trujillo.
The legacy began with his grandfather, an Italian clarinetist and tailor who emigrated to Venezuela after the Second World War. Santo Scala Bastidas, his father and first teacher, instilled technical discipline from childhood. By age 15, Santo was already principal cellist of his home state's orchestra, and was giving his first lessons that same year.
The grandfather
Italian clarinetist and tailor, who emigrated to Venezuela in the postwar years.
The father
Santo Scala Bastidas: cellist, conductor and luthier in Trujillo. His first teacher.
The teachers
Valmore Nieves and Edgar Calderón, principal cellists of the two Simón Bolívar orchestras; later, Julian Arp in Graz.
The Four Strings
Four callings tuned to the same instrument.
Tap a string to open it. Each one carries a part of the work, and none plays alone.
Principal cellist at 15 in the Trujillo orchestra. Between 2017 and 2020, he was a member of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel and Diego Matheus, and led the cello section in an opera gala with the country's leading singers. In Brazil, he played in the Youth Orchestra of the State of São Paulo and held a scholarship at the Music Academy of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (Osesp). In 2023, he served as principal cellist on a 15-concert tour across China. In Graz, he took the principal cello chair of the university orchestra, performed at the Musikverein Graz and collaborated with the Klagenfurt Opera orchestra. In 2026, he took the first cello desk of the Camerata Strumentale Siciliana for the concert season.
- Simón Bolívar Symphony · 2017–2020
- Youth Orchestra of São Paulo · Osesp
- China tour · 2023
- KUG Orchestra · principal
- Camerata Strumentale Siciliana · 2026
Trained in the chamber rigor of Alexander Pavlovsky, Chia Chou and Julian Arp, he made his debut at the Musikverein Graz alongside his teacher and university faculty in the institution's most important annual concert. Santo Scala made his debut at the prestigious Fränkischer Sommer Festival in Germany, performing with the Ilumina collective and sharing the stage with world-renowned figures such as Liza Ferschtman and Jennifer Stumm. In Austria, he collaborates with the acclaimed Oberton String Octet and performs alongside leading musicians at the Mozarthaus in Vienna. He has recordings with the Simón Bolívar String Quartet and the string trio dedicated to Gideon Klein, formed with university colleagues. In 2026, he took the first cello desk of the Camerata Strumentale Siciliana and regularly collaborates as guest first cello with the Orchestra da Camera di Pordenone.
- Simón Bolívar String Quartet
- Gideon Klein · String Trio
- Musikverein Graz · debut
- Fränkischer Sommer Festival
With Tocuyito Trío (Dalina Ugarte on violin, Joseph Ávila on piano), founded in Vienna in 2023, violin, cello and piano echo the pulse of the cuatro, the bandola and the maracas. A Jeunesse Featured Ensemble for the 2023–2024 season, the trio premiered the staged concert Cambur Pin-Tón at the Wiener Konzerthaus, a co-production with Oorkaan directed by Caecilia Thunnissen and nominated for the YAMawards. With Ilumina Music, he brings Latin American repertoire to Europe's leading stages.
- Tocuyito Trío · since 2023
- Jeunesse · Featured Ensemble
- Cambur Pin-Tón · Konzerthaus
- Ilumina Music · since 2020
He began teaching at 15 and never stopped. In Catania, Sicily, he spent a year as principal cello teacher at a non-profit foundation that brings free music education to the city's most vulnerable areas, following the principles of José Antonio Abreu's Sistema. He also taught violin, viola, double bass and solfège, conducted the orchestra, and developed his own method for students with motor and visual disabilities.
- Catania · 2025
- Cello, strings and solfège
- Orchestra conducting
- Method for students with disabilities
Journey
From Trujillo to Sicily, never putting down the bow.
Each stage broadened the reach of the next, from Venezuela's foremost orchestra to Europe's concert halls.
2017 – 2020
Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra
Three formative years at the pinnacle of El Sistema: an opera gala as section principal, a recording of Brazilian quartets and a stage shared with Gustavo Dudamel. Caracas, Venezuela
2019
Bachelor's in Cello, UNEARTE
Higher education under Valmore Nieves and Edgar Calderón, principal cellists of the two Simón Bolívar orchestras. Caracas, Venezuela
2020 – 2025
Kunstuniversität Graz
Class of Julian Arp. Debut at the Musikverein Graz in his very first semester, principal cello of the university orchestra, and chamber music with Alexander Pavlovsky. Graz, Austria
2020 → present
Ilumina Music
Member of the collective breaking down the boundaries between European classical repertoire and Latin American music in the continent's most important halls. Europe
2023
Tocuyito Trío is born
Founded in Vienna with Dalina Ugarte and Joseph Ávila. At year's end, a crowdfunding campaign gives rise to the debut album. Vienna, Austria
2024
Debut at the Wiener Konzerthaus
March 16: Cambur Pin-Tón, a staged concert co-produced with Oorkaan and Jeunesse. It paved the way for the Catatumbo program in the Sala Mozart. Vienna, Austria
2025
Catania: teaching and social outreach
A year as principal cello teacher at a social-inclusion foundation, following the principles of Abreu's Sistema. Catania, Italy
2026
Principal cello, Camerata Strumentale Siciliana
A full season leading the section, under conductors Giovanni Ferrauto, Vito Imperato and Veneto Munzone, with soloists including Giovanni Nocchi and Vikram Francesco Sedona. Sicily, Italy
Stages and Festivals
Where the repertoire met its audience.
A selection of premieres, residencies and seasons across Europe.
Lucerne Festival — “The Nature of Light”
A historic premiere: Ilumina was the only Latin American ensemble invited under the festival's theme of diversity, with artistic direction by Jennifer Stumm.
Fränkischer Sommer — Dehnberger Hof Theater
Invited by violist Franziska Hoelscher, sharing the stage with Liza Ferschtman and Jennifer Stumm, a mark of legitimacy in the German chamber music circuit.
Wiener Konzerthaus — “Cambur Pin-Tón”
Premiere of the Tocuyito Trío's staged concert, YAMawards-nominated, followed by the Catatumbo program in the Sala Mozart.
Kronberg Festival — “Brazilian Fire”, Casals Forum
At the same festival, Jennifer Stumm and Ilumina received the Pablo Casals Award 2024 – For a Better World, for their artistic work and social commitment.
Edinburgh International Festival — “In the Light of Shadow”
An artistic residency at one of the world's most influential performing arts festivals.
Het Concertgebouw
Opening concert of the European tour on one of the continent's most iconic stages.
Sion Festival
A concert series building a bridge between European classical tradition and contemporary Brazilian music.
Elbphilharmonie · Musikverein Graz · I Suoni delle Dolomiti
Hamburg, Graz and the Dolomites, the next stops on tours with Ilumina and the Tocuyito Trío.
“Ilumina breaks down the barriers of classical music on Europe's most important stages.”
Ilumina Music
From the Lucerne Festival in 2022 to the Pablo Casals Award in Kronberg, the collective combines technical excellence with a declared commitment to social transformation.
Recordings
Two recordings, two worlds.
An album of Venezuelan roots music and a string trio written in Terezín.
The work the composer finished in Terezín days before his deportation, recorded for string trio. Repertoire Santo keeps alive on stage.
Listen on Spotify ↗
Fuga con Pajarillo — Aldemaro Romero
Tonada de Luna Llena
El Cruzao
Brazilian String Quartets
Gideon Klein — String Trio
Simón Bolívar String Quartet
Teaching and Social Outreach
Music as access, not privilege.
Santo learned in a home where music was the foundation, and has taught since he was 15. In Catania, he gave that back to a city where the instrument rarely reaches: a full year leading the cello class at a non-profit foundation, with free music education as an engine of human transformation, the principles of José Antonio Abreu's Sistema applied in Sicily.
The work included students with motor and visual disabilities. For them, he developed his own method linking technical learning to each student's emotional growth, because tuning a string and building confidence happen, in practice, at the same time.
Age 15
When he gave his first lessons
5
Subjects: cello, violin, viola, double bass and solfège
1 year
Principal teacher and conductor in Catania
Contact
For the next season.
Invitations for concerts, chamber music, recording, lessons and masterclasses: write directly.