Nuno Torres Marques is a composer, performer, and educator based in The Hague, NL. His work is rooted in jazz and classical music, while extending into a broader compositional practice that includes chamber music and interdisciplinary collaboration. Across his projects, composition functions as an exploratory process in which structure, sound, and improvisation develop in close interaction.

He graduated with a Master of Music in Jazz Composition from the Royal Conservatoire The Hague, studying under a distinguished faculty that included renowned bassist and composer Hein van de Geyn; the acclaimed composer and boundary-pushing solo improvising pianist Guus Janssen; and the highly regarded composer, pianist, and arranger Marco C. de Bruin. During his Master’s, he expanded his musical scope through specialized coursework, studying Basso Continuo for Harpsichord with Patrick Ayrton, a prominent figure in the Dutch early music scene; Jazz Harmony at the Piano with the esteemed jazz pianist Tilmar Junius; and intensive, one-on-one study in Ensemble and Improvisation with the legendary multi-reed master John Ruocco, a foundational mentor whose virtuosity deeply influenced his artistic path.

His musical foundation includes a Bachelor’s degree in Composition and Arranging and a Postgraduate degree in Orchestration and Film Scoring from Taller de Músics / Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Barcelona. There, he studied composition with distinguished Spanish composers Vicens Martín, Ramon Civit, Cristina Canet, and Santiago Galán, alongside orchestration and film scoring studies with Enric Palomar and Alfons Conde.

During his time in the Bachelor’s program, he enriched his formal studies with elective courses, advancing his work in Ensemble and Jazz Bass under the acclaimed David Mengual, and developing his approach to Classical and Jazz Harmony at the Piano under the exceptional guidance of the brilliant pianist and mentor Carlos Uguet—exploring harmonic frameworks, chord progressions, and Béla Bartók’s Mikrokosmos Piano Method. During his years in Spain, he also pursued rigorous private studies in Classical Double Bass with the renowned virtuoso Professor Ferran Sala. Throughout this period, he played double bass in musical theatre pieces like Kiss Me, Kate and Cabaret, and worked as a double bassist in jazz projects. Notably, this included his arrangements of traditional Portuguese music for the Zenith Quartet, with whom he played across several venues in Barcelona and Portugal, including Jazz al Carrer, ultimately reaching the finals at Sala Montjuïc Barcelona.

This rich pedigree builds upon his earlier formal Classical Double Bass studies in Lisbon. There, he completed five years of intensive study with the celebrated Portuguese pedagogue Professor Fernando Flores at Lisbon’s Academia de Amadores de Música, playing in ensemble classes and orchestral music alongside formative studies in Jazz Bass with prominent figures Carlos Barreto and Nelson Cascais at the Hot Clube de Portugal. During this period, he performed as a double bassist with the Lisbon Youth Symphony Orchestra and Big Band Orquestra da Felicidade, while playing bass and double bass in various Pop, Fado, Jazz, and Latin music projects at venues throughout Lisbon and other Portuguese cities.

Following his Master’s degree, he continued working closely with de Bruin as a composer’s assistant, gaining deep insight into professional compositional practice. During this time, he also composed and arranged for ensembles such as the Scroll Ensemble and the Fuse Ensemble, alongside his ongoing work writing for his own jazz quintet.

As a composer and bassist, he develops projects that bridge the worlds of fully notated and improvised music. His album Vortex, recorded with his jazz quintet, represents a central work in his artistic output. He is currently completing his second album, Mandala—a project for jazz quintet that explores composition as a circular process where structure, improvisation, and sound unfold in a dynamic relation.

Alongside his artistic practice, Nuno has extensive experience teaching composition, improvisation, and creative musicianship, as well as offering specialized instruction in double bass, bass guitar, music theory & harmony at the piano. Grounded in a practice-based approach, his teaching connects composition with performance, encouraging students to develop an individual artistic voice alongside a strong sense of craftsmanship.

Having lived and worked in the Netherlands for many years, he is actively connected to the Dutch and international music field. He brings this perspective into his work as both artist and educator, engaging with composition as a form of artistic research and supporting collaborative, project-based environments in which fellow artists, performers, and peers develop independent and critically engaged practices.