Denise Santos

Biography

Denise Santos is a 2x Emmy-nominated and 1x Emmy-winning Filipina composer and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles, California. Her music has been heard in a multitude of movies and tv shows, most recently in “Parallel” (VOD), “The Moment: How Sports Changed the World” (BBC Select), “Island of the Sea Wolves” (Netflix), “Eden: Untamed Planet” (BBC America), and “Primates” (PBS), for which she was awarded the 2021 News & Doc Emmy for Outstanding Music Composition. That same year, she was also awarded the ASCAP Foundation Michelle & Dean Kay Award for emerging composers in the LA area, recognizing her body of work and promising career. She trained at Hans Zimmer and Sony/ATV’s Bleeding Fingers Music where she was an in-house composer for many years before going independent in 2022. Largely influenced by alternative, classical, pop, and world music, Denise loves to blend these different genres to create uniquely powerful compositions that help uplift diverse stories, filmmakers, and creators. When not in her studio, Denise loves to host gatherings, watch concerts, go thrifting, and spend quality time with her husband Josh and their dog Biscuit.