San Francisco Symphony Names Diego Incertis Sánchez New Principal Horn, Beginning January 2026

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—The San Francisco Symphony is pleased to welcome Diego Incertis Sánchez as its new Principal Horn, beginning in January 2026. Previously he held positions as 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 following 43 years with the Orchestra. Ward held the Principal Horn chair from 2007 until his retirement. 

“I'm incredibly excited to be joining the San Francisco Symphony and to make music with such a truly special group of colleagues,” said Incertis Sánchez. "San Francisco is such a vibrant and multicultural city, and I'm looking forward to performing for a community with such an appreciation for arts and music. Just in my first few months with the Symphony, I will have the opportunity to play some of the greatest repertoire for orchestra. I'm especially thrilled to perform Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 with Maestro Herbert Blomstedt.” 

When Incertis Sánchez joins the Orchestra in January, Michael Stevens, who’s currently serving as Acting Principal Horn, will step into the role of Acting Associate Principal Horn. 

Diego Incertis Sánchez, Principal Horn 
Diego Incertis Sánchez joins the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Horn in January 2026. Previously he held positions as principal horn of the London Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra. He 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 under the guidance of Carlos Balaguer. He continued his studies at the Reina Sofia School of Music in Madrid with Radovan Vlatković and Rodolfo Epelde before joining the Royal College of Music under the tutelage of Jeff Bryant, Timothy Jones, and Nigel Black.  

Incertis Sánchez has appeared as a soloist in Schumann’s Konzertstück with the Philharmonia conducted by Santtu-Matias Rouvali and Helmut Lachenmann’s My Melodies with the LSO conducted by Ilan Volkov. He 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.