The San Francisco Symphony has appointed Diego Incertis Sánchez as principal horn, effective in January 2026. Previously he was principal horn of the London Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Incertis Sánchez succeeds former Principal Horn Robert Ward, who retired from the San Francisco Symphony in December 2023 after 43 years. Ward held the principal horn chair from 2007 until his retirement. When Incertis Sánchez joins the orchestra in January, current Acting Principal Horn Michael Stevens will become acting associate principal horn. Incertis Sánchez has played as guest principal horn with the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He has also been principal horn of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra. Incertis Sánchez was born in Valladolid, Spain, where he started playing the horn at age eight. He continued at the Reina Sofia School of Music in Madrid before joining the Royal College of Music. Incertis Sánchez often plays chamber music with the LSO and Philharmonia Winds, the Wigmore Soloists, and with artists such as Michael Collins, Isabelle van Keulen, and Benjamin Gilmore. Since September 2022, Incertis Sánchez has been a professor at the Royal College of Music.
