Award-winning composer and conductor Diego Navarro is regarded as one of the most influential voices in film music in Spain. In all his professional facets, whether it is working as a composer specialised in film scores, a conductor, or in his pivotal role in promoting the genre, Navarro is internationally recognised as a key figure within the genre.

His filmography includes acclaimed, multi-award-winning titles such as the Goya-winning animated feature films Mariposas Negras (Black Butterflies, dir. David Baute) and Atrapa la Bandera (Capture the Flag, dir. Enrique Gato), as well as the feature length film El fotógrafo de Mauthausen (The Photographer of Mauthausen, dir. Mar Targarona), among many others.

In 2007, he founded the Tenerife International Film Music Festival (Festival Internacional de Música de Cine de Tenerife - FIMUCITÉ), which he has directed ever since. FIMUCITÉ is the world’s longest-running film music festival, with over 19 consecutive editions.

Over the years, Diego Navarro has conducted an exceptional number of major world premieres, spanning both Hollywood and European productions.

Notable highlights include the official centenary concerts for Universal Pictures (FIMUCITÉ), ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) at the Krakow Film Music Festival, DreamWorks Animation Studios (FIMUCITÉ), the 40th anniversary of Varèse Sarabande (Edinburgh–Glasgow tour), and the official HBO and Netflix concert at the Krakow FMF.

In 2022, he made his highly successful debut at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, conducting the world premiere of the 40th Anniversary Suite of Conan the Barbarian, in the presence of its director, John Milius, and introduced by Francis Ford Coppola and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Diego Navarro has collaborated with many of the genre’s most influential figures, including Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore, Elliot Goldenthal, Michael Giacchino, Christopher Young, Patrick Doyle, Dario Marianelli, Jan Kaczmarek, Bruno Coulais and Antón García Abril.

He is today considered one of the most internationally respected conductors specialising in film music. He has led leading symphony orchestras such as the Royal Scottish National Orchestra & Chorus (RSNO), Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, Bordeaux National Opera Orchestra, Opéra National d’Aquitaine Orchestra, Paris Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Film Orchestra, Krakow Symphony Orchestra, Aukso Orchestra, Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, and the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. His extensive concert repertoire includes classic scores by Ennio Morricone, Bernard Herrmann, Alex North, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, John Barry, Georges Delerue, Maurice Jarre and Philippe Sarde, earning widespread critical and public acclaim.

Further highlights include his conducting of the Krakow Film Music Festival’s 10th Anniversary Concert in 2017 and the Space Gala in May 2023. At the latter, he conducted the world premiere of Avatar: The Way of Water, in the presence of composer Simon Franglen. The event led Polish broadcaster Play Krakow to produce a documentary dedicated to the Canarian maestro, who has been one of the festival’s principal guest conductors since 2009. The film is available online under the title Diego Navarro: Space Gala. In 2015, the Krakow FMF awarded him the Ambassador Award.

In November 2024, Navarro made his hugely successful debut in Chicago with 'Dracula in Concert', which brought to life Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula in the American premiere of the production in which he worked alongside the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chicago Chamber Choir at the famous Auditorium Theatre. The event was an exclusive co-production between FIMUCITÉ and the Krakow Film Music Festival. Later the same month, he travelled to Rome as the official conductor selected by Paramount Pictures for the recording and filming of the Gladiator II Concert Suite by Harry Gregson-Williams, ahead of its world premiere.

December 2024 marked the release of Navarro’s most recent feature films, Super Klaus and Mariposas Negras, both nominated for Best Animated Film at the 2025 Goya Awards. Mariposas Negras won the award, adding to an impressive list of honours in the same category at the Forqué, Gaudí, Platino and Quirino Awards. Navarro also received the 2025 Cygnus Award from the University of Alcalá de Henares for Best Score, recognising artistic excellence aligned with values of sustainability and solidarity.

He has recently completed several new works, including a commission from the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra (Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife - OST) to close its traditional Christmas Concert, which received outstanding acclaim on 25th December, as well as the animated project Shadow Play, soon due to be released.

Among his upcoming projects for 2025 is the animated feature film Winnipeg: Seeds of Hope (dirs. Elio Quiroga and Beñat Beitia), an international Spain–Chile co-production recounting the journey of the French ship chartered by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda to help 2,500 Spanish refugees fleeing the Spanish Civil War. Additional live-action projects are currently in development and will be announced in due course.

Alongside his work as a composer, Diego Navarro continues to direct FIMUCITÉ and to conduct film music concerts worldwide, both at his own festival and at leading international film music events.

He is a member of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain, Musimagen, and SGAE (Sociedad General de Autores y Editores). In July 2024, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

In 2022, the City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife awarded him its highest honour, the Gold Medal of the City, in recognition of his contribution to culture and to the international prestige of his hometown. In March 2025, he was officially honoured with the title of Illustrious Son of the Island of Tenerife.

Official website:
http://www.diegonavarro.com

Facebook artist page:
www.facebook.com/Diego-Navarro-Composer-Conductor...

YouTube channel:
www.youtube.com/channel/UChz...

FIMUCITÉ channel:
www.youtube.com/channel/UCasJp...