Etni Molletones was born in Yaracuy, Venezuela in 1990. He began his musical studies at the age of nine and began playing with the Orquesta Juvenil de Aroa. He went on to the Conservatory “Blanca estrella de Méscoli” with the Prof. Manuel Rojas and José Luis Ramirez, and at the same time held a position at the Orquesta Sinfónica de Yaracuy. Etni continued his studies at the Music Conservatory “Simón Bolívar” of Caracas with the Prof. Víctor Rojas and received his Bachelor degree at the Universidad central de Venezuela in 2016.
While he was a student in Caracas, Etni won the competition to become a member of the celebrated Orquesta Sinfónica “Simón Bolívar” under Gustavo Dudamel. With this orchestra, he had the opportunity to tour the world playing in the most prestigious concert halls including Philharmonie in Berlin, Konzerthaus in Vienna, Salle Pleyel in Paris, Teatro Alla Scala in Milano, Salzburg Festival, Palau de la Música in Barcelona, KKL Luzern, Megaron and Herodes Atticus in Athens, Royal Abert Concert Hall in London, Carnegie Hall in New York, and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. During this time, Etni had the great privilege to play under the baton of important conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Lorin Maazel, Sir. Simon Rattle, Daniel Barenboim, Frühbeck de Burgos, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Nikolaus Hanonkurt, Gustavo Dudamel, and others. He also collaborated with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Stockholm Royal Philharmonic Orchestras.
In 2017, Etni was accepted into Mario Caroli’s class at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg, France. In 2018, Etni graduated with a specialization in “très bien à l’unanimité avec félicitations du jury”, and began studying at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, where he completed his studies with Prof. Mario Caroli in 2018.
Upon his arrival in Europe, Etni won prizes at several international flute competitions:
In 2019, Etni won several auditions and is currently Solo Flute of the Badische Staatskapelle in Karlsruhe.