Arturo Cardelús

Arturo Cardelús (born 1981) is a Spanish-American composer of film and concert music. His scores for films Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles and Dragonkeeper have been nominated for Goya Awards.^[1]

Arturo Cardelús
Born	(1981-12-27) December 27, 1981 (age 43) Madrid, Spain
Nationality	Spanish-American
Occupation	Composer

Biography

Cardelús was born in Madrid, Spain on December 27, 1981.^[2] He became an American citizen in 2019.^[3] He studied at the Conservatorio Superior de Música (Salamanca, Spain), Royal Academy of Music, Franz Liszt Academy of Music, and Berklee College of Music.^[2][4]

In 2012, Cardelús orchestrated the score for the film The Paperboy.^[2] In 2015, he composed the soundtrack for the Italian film Chiamatemi Francesco.^[5][6] In 2017, Cardelús composed the soundtrack for the animated short In a Heartbeat, which went viral and attracted wide attention.^[7][8] The score won Best Original Score – Animated Short Film at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards.^[9] Cardelús's song "Song for the Untitled" from the 2018 documentary Yo Galgo, which Cardelús also scored, was nominated for Best Original Song – Documentary in the following year's Hollywood Music in Media Awards.^[10]

In 2019, Cardelús scored the animated feature Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles.^[11] His music for the film won awards for best score at the 2019 Annecy International Animation Film Festival^[12] and the 2019 Málaga Film Festival.^[13][14] The score was also nominated for a Goya Award,^[15][16] a Feroz Award,^[17] and a Spanish Cinema Writers Circle Award^[18] for best original score and for a Hollywood Music in Media Award^[19] and an International Film Music Critics Association Award^[20] for best original score in an animated film.

In classical music, Cardelús attracted national attention for his 2013 composition Con Aire de Tango, which was commissioned by members of the Berlin Philharmonic after they saw a video of his work on YouTube.^[21][22][23] Two years later, Naxos Records released an album of Cardelús' compositions.^[24] In 2016, Cardelús was elected Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM).^[25] His work Grace was nominated for a 2017 Hollywood Music in Media Award in the category Contemporary Classical/Instrumental.^[26] Works by Cardelús have been performed in venues including Madrid's National Auditorium and Boston's Jordan Hall.^[27]

Cardelús lives and works in Los Angeles.^[2]

Filmography

• The Paperboy (orchestrator) (2012)
• Tangernación (2013)
• War Is Beautiful (2014)
• Chiamatemi Francesco (2015)
• In a Heartbeat (2017) (short)
• Altamira, el origen del arte (2018)
• Yo Galgo (2018)
• Original Sin (2018)
• The People's Fighters (2018)
• On the Run (2018)
• Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles (2019)
• Aún se bendicen los campos (2019)
• Kalipay (2019)
• Black Beach (2020)
• Descendents: The Royal Wedding (TV special) (2021)
• Dylan & Zoey (2022)
• Los Reyes Magos: La Verdad (2022)
• Back to Lyla (2022)
• Centurion: The Dancing Stallion (2023)
• Dragonkeeper (2024)

Concert music discography

• Con Aire de Tango (Naxos Records, 2015)

Awards and nominations

Year	Film / work	Award	Category	Result
2017	In a Heartbeat	Hollywood Music in Media Awards	Best Original Score – Animated Short Film	Won[9]
2017	Grace	Hollywood Music in Media Awards	Contemporary Classical/Instrumental	Nominated[26]
2018	"Song for the Untitled" (Yo Galgo)	Hollywood Music in Media Awards	Best Original Song – Documentary	Nominated[10]
2019	Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles	Annecy International Animation Film Festival	Best Original Music for a Feature Film	Won[12]
2019		Málaga Film Festival	Best Music	Won[13]
2019		Hollywood Music in Media Awards	Best Original Score – Animated Film	Nominated[19]
2020		Cinema Writers Circle Awards	Best Original Score	Nominated[18]
2020		Premios Feroz	Best Original Score	Nominated[17]
2020		International Film Music Critics Association Awards	Best Original Score for an Animated Film	Nominated[20]
2020		Goya Awards	Best Original Score	Nominated[15][16]
2021	Black Beach	Hollywood Music in Media Awards	Best Original Score – Independent Film	Nominated[28]
2021	Descendants: The Royal Wedding	Hollywood Music in Media Awards	Best Original Score – Animated Short Film	Nominated[29]
2022	Frida Kahlo: An Immersive Exhibition	Hollywood Music in Media Awards	Best Original Score – Exhibition	Won[30]
2023	Los Reyes Magos: La Verdad	Hollywood Music in Media Awards	Best Original Score – Independent Film (Foreign Language)	Nominated[31]
2024	Dragonkeeper	Hollywood Music in Media Awards	Best Original Score – Animated film	Nominated[32]
2025		Goya Awards	Best Original Score	Pending[1]