# 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.

## Biography

Cardelús was born in Madrid, Spain on December 27, 1981. He became an American citizen in 2019. He studied at the Conservatorio Superior de Música (Salamanca, Spain), Royal Academy of Music, Franz Liszt Academy of Music, and Berklee College of Music.
In 2012, Cardelús orchestrated the score for the film The Paperboy. In 2015, he composed the soundtrack for the Italian film Chiamatemi Francesco. In 2017, Cardelús composed the soundtrack for the animated short In a Heartbeat, which went viral and attracted wide attention. The score won Best Original Score – Animated Short Film at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards. 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.
In 2019, Cardelús scored the animated feature Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles. His music for the film won awards for best score at the 2019 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and the 2019 Málaga Film Festival. The score was also nominated for a Goya Award, a Feroz Award, and a Spanish Cinema Writers Circle Award for best original score and for a Hollywood Music in Media Award and an International Film Music Critics Association Award 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. Two years later, Naxos Records released an album of Cardelús' compositions. In 2016, Cardelús was elected Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM). His work Grace was nominated for a 2017 Hollywood Music in Media Award in the category Contemporary Classical/Instrumental. Works by Cardelús have been performed in venues including Madrid's National Auditorium and Boston's Jordan Hall.
Cardelús lives and works in Los Angeles.

## 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 |
| 2017 | Grace | Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Contemporary Classical/Instrumental | Nominated |
| 2018 | "Song for the Untitled" (Yo Galgo) | Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Original Song – Documentary | Nominated |
| 2019 | Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles | Annecy International Animation Film Festival | Best Original Music for a Feature Film | Won |
| 2019 | Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles | Málaga Film Festival | Best Music | Won |
| 2019 | Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles | Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Original Score – Animated Film | Nominated |
| 2020 | Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles | Cinema Writers Circle Awards | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| 2020 | Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles | Premios Feroz | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| 2020 | Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles | International Film Music Critics Association Awards | Best Original Score for an Animated Film | Nominated |
| 2020 | Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles | Goya Awards | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| 2021 | Black Beach | Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Original Score – Independent Film | Nominated |
| 2021 | Descendants: The Royal Wedding | Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Original Score – Animated Short Film | Nominated |
| 2022 | Frida Kahlo: An Immersive Exhibition | Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Original Score – Exhibition | Won |
| 2023 | Los Reyes Magos: La Verdad | Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Original Score – Independent Film (Foreign Language) | Nominated |
| 2024 | Dragonkeeper | Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Original Score – Animated film | Nominated |
| 2025 | Dragonkeeper | Goya Awards | Best Original Score | Pending |