Biography

Award-winning composer Maria Linares, recipient of the 2025 Macondo Award from the Colombian Film Academy for Best Score (Matrioshka by Jorge Forero) and a 2025 NYSCA/NYFA Fellow in Music, is a Colombian-born, New York based composer, songwriter, and vocalist whose immersive work spans film, television, theater, and multimedia projects. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and a master’s degree in Scoring for Film and Multimedia from New York University. Maria blends orchestral, electronic, and fusion genres with the rhythms and melodies of her Colombian heritage to craft immersive sonic worlds that engage audiences emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Her scores include the Netflix documentary Higuita: The Way of the Scorpion (dir. Luis Ara), Matrioshka (dir. Jorge Forero), and The Book Signing (dir. Bob Giraldi). As a songwriter and vocalist, her music has been licensed internationally, including the series Susana y Elvira.

Founder of Fiona Records in 2014, Maria has created music for clients including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Nickelodeon, Telemundo, and Encantos Media across Latin America and the U.S. Her work has been performed by the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, Orquesta Filarmónica de EAFIT, and Fames Orchestra in Colombia’s most prestigious theaters, Known for her versatility and collaborative approach, Maria composes original songs, incidental music, and immersive soundscapes that transform performance spaces. Maria is recognized as one of the most outstanding composers of her generation in music for audiovisual media. She works with different musical genres, as well as formats that range from orchestral, fusion to electronic. Her versatility and ability to composer incidental music and original songs is one of her strengths.

Maria is a Founding member and former president of Mucine (Colombian Association of film music composers), board member of the Colombian film academy and co- chair of Women in Music Colombia and part of the Alliance of Women Film composers (AWFC).
- IMDb mini biography by: MLA