Manuel Astudillo Quintero is currently principal flute at the Orchestra from Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in Belgium. He began his musical training with Sergio Gana at the Conservatorio de Arte de Chillán, continuing his studies with Hernán Jara at the Escuela Moderna de Música y Danza de Santiago. He later pursued advanced studies at the Haute École de Musique de Genève with Michel Bellavance, also taking baroque flute classes with Serge Saïtta and piccolo lessons with Jerica Pavli. He was a member of the Orchestra Academy of the Opernhaus Zürich (Philharmonia Zürich), under the mentorship of Maurice Heugen and Pamela Stahel. He has collaborated with prominent ensembles such as Orquesta Filarmónica de Santiago, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, Ensemble Contrechamps, and Philharmonia Zürich. He has taken part in international festivals such as the Festival de Campos do Jordão and the Pacific Music Festival. His distinctions include 2nd prize and the jury prize at the Concorso Severino Gazzelloni, the Göhner Musikpreis from the Kiefer Hablitzel Stiftung, and he was also a semifinalist at both the Concours Maxence Larrieu and the Aeolus International Music Competition. Alongside his performing career, he is also actively engaged in teaching, offering private lessons and working as a flute section coach with the Youth Orchestra Flanders and the Mahler Student Festival Orchestra.