He honed his compositional voice at the Royal Academy of Music in London, studying under Helen Grime and Rubens Askenar, supported by an ABRSM scholarship. There, he graduated with first-class honors and quickly began earning recognition on the international stage. His orchestral work was awarded the PRIX ÉLAN 2024 in Paris, receiving unanimous acclaim from jury, orchestra, and audience. Other accolades include the WCSMS Promising Young Composers Competition (Philadelphia) and the Eric Coates Prize (London).

Arnau’s compositions have been commissioned and performed by a wide array of ensembles and institutions, including the Orchestre National d’Île-de-France, the Uusinta Ensemble (Finland), Bent Frequency (USA), Locrian Chamber Players (New York), Camerata Eduard Toldrà (Catalonia), and the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra.

He also develops digital tools and performance systems that extend his acoustic writing into electronic territory. He works with modular synthesizers and custom-built software that manipulates recorded instruments in real time. His interest in perception and transformation has led him to introduce terms like aural deepfakes, presence, and invisible electronics to describe aspects of his work. Many of his tools are open source and have been widely downloaded and shared online. Arnau’s work also includes collaborations in film, where he has contributed as both composer and orchestrator. These projects reflect the same attention to texture, structure, and atmosphere that runs through his instrumental and electronic music.

Arnau began his musical journey with jazz piano mentorship under Chano Domínguez and Marina Albero, and classical training at the IEA Oriol Martorell in Barcelona. As a performer, he has appeared at venues such as the Ateneu Barcelonès, Fundació Joan Miró (Festival Lluerna), CaixaForum Barcelona, UTOPIA 46, and the International Music Festival of Cadaqués.

Currently, he is a Composer in Residency 2024-25 at the prestigious IRCAM institute in Paris, which will lead to the premiere of a new work for oboe, symphonic orchestra and electronics, with Orchestre national d’Île-de-France in Festival ManiFeste. Future projects include a short opera commissioned by the Liceu Opera House in Barcelona.