Roque Baños | Composer

Roque Baños was born in Jumilla (Murcia) in 1968. He began his musical education at the age of 9, in the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Murcia where he finished elementary level, specializing in saxophone, obtaining Honors in both Music Theory and Saxophone.

In 1986, he moved to Madrid, where he completed studies in Saxophone, Piano, Music Theory, Composition and Conducting. at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid with honors and several merits mentions. In 1993, he received a grant from the Ministry of Culture in Spain to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude in the fields of Film Scoring and Performance in 1995, receiving in addition the Robert Share Award for demonstrating the highest musical-dramatic level in the area of film music composition and an Achievement Award for his outstanding performance abilities. 

During his years of study, Baños had a prolific career as a composer and player. He composed several orchestral and band pieces and received many awards. Additionally, in 1987 he earned a position as an officer musician in the Spanish Army, where he continued with an intense compositional period writing concert music for marching band and chamber ensembles. Baños also developed a career as a classical saxophone player, premiering works by Spanish and foreign composers as well as his own, in the most prestigious concert halls in Spain. His path, however, was always directed towards composition and conducting, finding in these fields his principal occupation. He has premiered and directed his own scores at the National Auditorium in Madrid, the Reina Sofia Auditorium, the Cultural Circle of Fine Arts Hall, and several Music Halls in Spain and abroad. 

In 1997, he was hired to do his first film score for Back Roads directed by Emilio Martinez Lazaro, one of the most acclaimed directors in Spain. He has since worked with many of the Spain’s most renowned directors, such as Alex de la Iglesia, Daniel Monzón, Carlos Saura and Santiago Segura to name a few, and he has earned international recognition working with acclaimed directors such as Terry Gilliam, Ron Howard, Kevin Reynolds, Spike Lee, Jonathan Glazer and Brad Anderson, amongst others. His first US production was the hit Evil Dead, directed by Fede Álvarez, with whom he has a close personal and professional relationship. That film opened the door to the American market, where the composer has thrived while he remains intensely engaged in the Spanish film industry, scoring numerous films. 

His recent credits include Don’t Breathe, directed by Fede Álvarez; The Commuter by Jaume Collet Serra; Miracle Season by Sean McNamara; Yucatán by Daniel Monzón; Sin Rodeos (Empowered) by Santiago Segura, Miamor perdido (Mylove Lost) by Emilio Martínez-Lázaro; The Man Who Killed Don Quixote directed by Terry Gilliam, the closing night premiere at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival; The Girl in the Spider ́s Web directed by Fede Álvarez; and Padre no hay más que uno (Father There is Only One) directed by Santiago Segura. 

His latest projects are the Netflix feature His House; the television series “30 coins” directed by Álex de la Iglesia; Padre no hay más que uno 2 (Father There is Only One 2) directed by Santiago Segura; and My Heart Goes Boom! directed by Nacho Álvarez. 

His work as a film composer has been honored with numerous awards and nominations, both national and international. Highlights include three Goya Awards and an additional 10 nominations; an ASCAP Award for Don’t Breathe; two International Film Music Critics Awards for Evil Dead, and an additional four nominations; and three Cinema Writers Circle Awards (Spain) and an addition eight nominations.