Photo by Diego Palacios
José Manuel Quintana Cámara, known as J. M. Quintana Cámara, is a versatile and prolific artist (music composer, pianist, producer, arranger and educator) and software engineer born in Valdepeñas (Spain) in 1984.
THE BEGINNINGS: PIANO & TECHNOLOGY
Since he was a child, he had a great attraction and a gift for music. He started to play the piano on his own, by ear, at the age of 6 and after that he received a strong classical music education, finishing his studies of classical piano in the Conservatory “Marcos Redondo” of Ciudad Real, at the same time he was finishing his MSc in Computer Science. Starting his professional career as a software engineer did not stop him from keeping his passion for music alive.
A PROLIFIC COMPOSER IN VISUAL MEDIA
Soon his passion for music, cinema and music technology led him to develop his career as a film music composer and producer. He has composed and produced more than 100 scores for visual media projects, including films, documentaries, TV series, video games and advertisements.
VAST EXPERIENCE WITH MULTIPLE FILM DIRECTORS
A MULTI AWARD-WINNING COMPOSER
His film scores and solo works have received multiple awards in many festivals around the globe. J. M. is winner of Hollywood Music in Media Awards and Fimucité for the score of Paper Boats (2019). He is a five-time nominee of the Hollywood Music in Media Awards, for Bad Child (2022), Sunshine in the Rain (2021), Servicio de Mensajería (2021), Defenseless (2020), and The Essence of Life (2015). Check out the full list of awards and nominations here.
A CHAMELEON, A VERSATILE COMPOSER
J. M. is hands-on at every stage of the composing process, a multi-instrumentalist who combines a mastery of music technology, classical musical training and an innate sense of curiosity. He’s as adept working with orchestral music as he is with electronic music and synths, playing piano or doing sound design, recording and mangling his own sounds.
He defines himself as a chameleon. J. M. enjoys composing and producing film music for many different genres (drama, thriller, sci-fi, horror, comedy, action, etc) in many different styles (from neoclassical to contemporary, electronica, ambient, jazz, or experimental), creating a new universe of sounds for each film.
A PIANIST, ARRANGER AND PASSIONATE EDUCATOR
J. M. is a multi-instrumentalist artist, being piano his main instrument. He has written and performed multiple piano covers or arrangements from well-known modern songs (pop, rock, soundtracks, etc). Some of his YouTube videos about piano covers have been watched by more than 5 million viewers. J. M. was commissioned to create a transcription of the piece “La Sombra del Viento”, composed by the well-known writer Carlos Ruiz Zafón, to be performed on his tribute during the ceremony of Premio Planeta (2020).
As an educator as well as a creator, J. M. is committed to breaking down the barriers of entry in the world of music, piano and film composition. He is the founder and director of Passion for Music Academy, an online music academy following his own method and philosophy to teach piano and music theory in an easy and fun way, with no age limits, and offering free piano tutorials on YouTube which have been watched millions of times.
José Manuel Quintana Cámara is a professional pianist, music composer, sound designer and producer, born in Valdepeñas (Spain) in 1984.
Since he was a child, he had a great attraction and a gift for one of his passions, music. He started to play the piano on his own, by ear, at the age of 6 and completed the professional degree in music, piano, in the conservatories “Ignacio Morales Nieva” in Valdepeñas and “Marcos Redondo” in Ciudad Real, finishing in 2004, at the same time he studied a MSc in Computer Science. Developing his professional career as an engineer did not stop him from keeping his passion for music alive.
Since his first contact with music, José Manuel was drawn to composition and creativity issues. In 1996, he wrote his first composition “Praça do Comércio” with a simple, melodic and classic style; it was published in 2012 included in his album “Feelinks”.
In 2009, he took up again composition activities. In 2012, he published his first single titled “From the Top of the Cliff” and his first album “Feelinks”, nominated by SoloPiano.com to the best solo piano album of the year 2012 in the category “Classical / Modern Classical”. This year, he also composes his first soundtrack, “Stop Hunger!”, for the documentary “The Third Rider” about hunger and malnutrition in our planet. From this moment, J. M. Quintana Cámara publishes numerous soundtracks for short films and documentaries.
In 2013, J. M. Quintana Cámara becomes the first Spanish pianist and composer member of the pianist network Enlightened Piano Radio, specialized in modern best piano driven music. In 2014, he publishes his second album, “Timeless”, including soundtracks with more instrumentation, but almost always with the piano as the main instrument.
In 2015, J. M. Quintana Cámara receives the Akademia Music Award to the “Best Song Instrumental/Acoustic” for his composition “Moon” and two silver medals in the Global Music Awards in the categories “Composition/Composer” and “Contemporary Classical”, for the composition “The Essence of Life”. J. M. Quintana Cámara also receives a nomination for the renowned Hollywood Music In Media Awards® (HMMA) for his composition “The Essence of Life” in the category “Contemporary Classical / Instrumental”. Also in 2015, Quintana Cámara’s music is selected for the CD “Sounds from the Circle VII”, the most prestigious compilation album of New Age music in the world.
In 2016, his music is chosen to be part of the compilation album “Solo Piano Songs of Peace”. José Manuel receives a new silver medal in the Global Music Awards in the category of “Romantic Piano” for the composition “Give Me Your Hand”.
In 2018, J. M. Quintana Cámara participates in Oticons Faculty 2018 International Film Music Competition, becoming a top-20 finalist of the competition among 209 participants from all over the world. He receives a new silver medal in the Global Music Awards in the category “Soundtrack film and TV” for the original sountrack of the feature documentary film “Tracks on the Sand”. His original soundtrack “Pigmalion” is nominated for best score in the “Bucharest ShortCut Cinefest” film festival.
In 2019, he receives the Hollywood Music in Media Awards to the best original score of short film (live action) for “Paper Boats” in The Avalon Theatre (Hollywood, Los Angeles).
In 2020, he receives the “Best Score” award in Dreamachine International Film Festival 2020 (USA) for “Defenseless”. He also receives the “Best Original Score of Short Film” award in Fimucité International Film Music Festival (Tenerife, Spain) for “Paper Boats” . He is recognized for his career as composer in his hometown, Valdepeñas, with Medalla de las Artes “Gregorio Prieto”.
Although he received a strong classical music education, he enjoys composing any style of music and any combination of musical instruments, from classical to contemporary music and soundtracks especially. His own music is generally melodic, passionate, elegant, energetic, deep, sentimental, relaxing, peaceful, soothing, inspirational and romantic, reflecting life experiences and feelings.
Nowadays, J. M. Quintana Cámara is involved in new personal music projects and composing scores for films and documentaries. He also teaches classical and modern piano, music theory, composition and music production.
