Born in 1985 in Daimiel (Ciudad Real), Manuel Blanco began his trumpet studies very early with Martin Baeza Rubio and José María Ortí Soriano. He currently also receives musical advice from the international concert performer Reinhold Friedrich, with these three teachers showing a special interest in his human and professional preparation.
He has won several competitions such as Ciudad de Xátiva, Calviá, Moixent, Jeju (South Korea), among others, but his great international achievement came after winning the prestigious ARD Music Competition in Munich 2011, obtaining the highest score in the history of the competition. This award has only been granted to two other trumpeters in its 62 editions before Manuel Blanco, with Maurice André being the first to achieve it in 1963. Blanco is considered his legitimate heir.
Since 2006, he has been the principal trumpet of the National Orchestra of Spain.
He has worked as a solo trumpet in top-tier orchestras such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France, the Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchester, the European Youth Orchestra, the Berlin Staatsoper, the Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic, the Mozart Bologna Orchestra, the Orchestra Teatro alla Scala Milan, the Santa Cecilia Orchestra of Rome, among others, alongside conductors of the stature of Claudio Abbado, Mariss Jansons, Rafael Frübeck de Burgos, Lorin Maazel, Christoph Eschenbach, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim, Yuri Temirkanov, Semyon Bychkov, Riccardo Chailly, Gustavo Dudamel, Andris Nelsons, Josep Pons, Juanjo Mena, David Afkham, Pablo Heras-Casado, George Pehlivanian, Markus Bosch, Antonio Méndez, etc.
As a concert performer, he has played with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, the Munich Radio Orchestra, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Budapest Chamber Orchestra, the Jeju Philharmonic Orchestra, Camerata XXI, the Philarmonisches Orchester Würzburg at Mozarfest, the Capella Symphonic Orchestra (St. Petersburg), the Hofer Symphoniker, the Niederrheinische Sinfoniker, the Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, the National Orchestra of Spain, the Navarra Symphony Orchestra, the RTVE Symphony Orchestra, the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, the Valencia Municipal Orchestra, among others.
Since 2016, he began one of his most exciting projects within his pedagogical vocation, the “MBTrumpetAcademy,” where he currently brings together the best young trumpet talents.
In 2017, his first CD, Fearless, recorded for DECCA accompanied by the National Orchestra of Spain under the baton of Josep Pons, was released. Received with great anticipation by both critics and the public, this recording is a demonstration of the wide repertoire that Blanco can face, including works from all of music history, from Haydn to Tomasi.
Future projects include commitments as a soloist internationally, recitals, and two premieres commissioned by the National Center for Musical Diffusion, among others.
From the 2018/19 season, he is a professor at the prestigious Reina Sofía School of Music, in addition to being a professor at the Alfonso X el Sabio University.