{{Short description|Musical artist and composer}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Batu Sener | image = Batu Sener.jpg | caption = | background = | birth_date = | birth_place = [[İzmir]], Turkey | genre = [[Film score]], [[television score]] | occupation = Music composer<br>Producer<br>Arranger<br>Orchestrator | website = {{URL|batusener.com}} | instruments = [[Piano]], [[Keyboard instruments|keyboards]] | years_active = 2014–present | label = Crashington Music }}
'''Batu Sener''' is a Los Angeles-based composer, orchestrator, and arranger, known for his work on the ''[[Ice Age (franchise)|Ice Age]]'' franchise, ''[[Harold and the Purple Crayon (film)|Harold and the Purple Crayon]]'', and ''[[Better Man (2024 film)|Better Man]]''.
He actively works alongside Oscar-nominated composer [[John Powell (film composer)|John Powell]] and has written additional music for films including ''[[Pan (2015 film)|Pan]]'', ''[[Jason Bourne (film)|Jason Bourne]]'', ''[[Ferdinand (film)|Ferdinand]]'', ''[[Solo: A Star Wars Story]]'', as well as ''[[How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World]]'', ''[[Migration (2023 film)|Migration]]'' and most recently ''[[Wicked (2024 film)|Wicked]]'' and the [[How to Train Your Dragon (2025 film)|live-action remake of ''How to Train Your Dragon'']].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kraft-engel.com/clients/batu-sener/|title=Batu Sener}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.colum.edu/academics/alumni/alumni-success-music|title=Alumni Success: Music Composition for the Screen MFA|website=www.colum.edu}}</ref>
His recent works include the studio album ''Lugano Impressions'', an a cappella choir single titled 'LII Dies Tenebrarum,' and the score for the film ''[[Better Man (2024 film)|Better Man]]'', which earned him his [[AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Winners & Nominees |url=https://www.aacta.org/aacta-awards/winners-and-nominees/ |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=www.aacta.org |language=en-AU}}</ref> He was a nominee for Breakthrough Composer of the Year in 2022 at [[International Film Music Critics Association|IFMCA Awards]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=IFMCA Award Nominations 2022 |url=https://filmmusiccritics.org/2023/02/ifmca-award-nominations-2022/ |website=Breakthrough Composer of the Year 2022 |date=9 February 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.awardsdaily.com/2023/02/09/international-film-music-critics-association-awards-nominations/|title=International Film Music Critics Association Awards Nominations}}</ref>
== Early life and education == From the age of 3, he trained as a pianist for 17 years<ref>{{Cite web |title=Independent Türkçe Interview with Composer Batu Sener |work=Independent Türkçe |date=14 November 2024 |url=https://www.indyturk.com/node/748805/kültür/dev-hollywood-filmlerinin-müziklerinin-ardındaki-türk-besteci-batu-şener}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.andante.com.tr/tr/11431/Ataturk-Filminin-Muziklerinde-Batu-sener-imzasi|title=Atatürk Filminin Müziklerinde Batu Şener İmzası|website=Atatürk Filminin Müziklerinde Batu Şener İmzası}}</ref> at [[Bilkent University]] Faculty of Music and Performance Arts and [[Anadolu University]] State Conservatory before moving to the United States to study film scoring at [[Berklee College of Music]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Batu Sener at Berklee College of Music |url=https://college.berklee.edu/news/behind-music-ferdinand-batu-sener-film-scoring-alumnus |website=berklee.edu Interview with Batu Sener}}</ref> and composition at [[Columbia College Chicago]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The World's Best Music Schools, Ranked |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/worlds-best-music-schools-2022-ranked-1235253135/ |website=Hollywood Reported article - Batu Sener in the alumni |date=5 November 2022 }}</ref> Once in Los Angeles, he met [[John Powell (film composer)|John Powell]] and has been his collaborator on every single film score and project since 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.filmmusicmedia.com/interviews/composer-interview-batu-sener|title=Film.Music.Media - Composer Interview: Batu Sener|website=www.filmmusicmedia.com}}</ref>
== Career == Sener's first feature length score was in the Ice Age franchise titled ''[[The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild]].'' A few months later, in the same franchise, Sener scored ''[[Ice Age: Scrat Tales]],'' a mini TV series produced by [[Blue Sky Studios]], which turned out to be the last project they released before the studio closed. Sener had collaborated with director [[Carlos Saldanha]] via John Powell on the animated feature film ''[[Ferdinand (film)|Ferdinand]]''. This relationship led to his next feature score ''[[Harold and the Purple Crayon (film)|Harold and the Purple Crayon]].'' He continues working out of John Powell's 5 Cat Studios and Powell is credited as Score Consultant on this score.
Meanwhile, in Turkey and Europe, Sener scored [[Atatürk (film)|''Atatürk'']], a two-part Turkish [[Epic film|epic]] [[Biographical film|biographical]] [[Historical drama|historical drama film]] directed by Mehmet Ada Öztekin and written by Necati Şahin. The film follows the life of the [[founding father]] of the [[Republic of Turkey]], [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atatürk premiere in Istanbul |url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ataturk-1881-1919-premieres-at-akm-187317 |website=Hurriyet Daily News |date=25 October 2023 }}</ref> This project was initially intended to be a 6-episode television series. It stars [[Aras Bulut İynemli]] in the title role. The first part of the film, titled ''Atatürk 1881 - 1919'' premiered on October 29, 2023 and the second one, ''Atatürk II 1881 - 1919'' premiered on January 5, 2024, both in Turkey and across Europe. Both films and the television version were later released on [[Amazon Prime Video]].<ref>{{Cite web |author1=Emir |title=Atatürk Amazon Prime Video Release Date |url=https://shiftdelete.net/ataturk-1881-1919-prime-video-tarihi |website=Teknoloji Haberleri - ShiftDelete.Net (in Turkish). |date=28 August 2024 }}</ref>
In 2024, he released an album of arrangements of some of the most recognized traditional pop songs, ''Reset'', by Ben Fuller. Sener is credited as a performer and producer on the album as well. He later scored [[Michael Gracey]]'s [[Better Man (film)|Better Man]], a [[Biographical film|biographical]] [[jukebox musical]] [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] based on the life of the English singer [[Robbie Williams]].
In his work with John Powell, Sener has supplied compositions, arrangements, and orchestrations for over 15 films, along with a wide range of additional recording projects, including ''[[Jason Bourne (film)|Jason Bourne]], [[Solo: A Star Wars Story]], [[How to Train Your Dragon]]'' franchise, ''[[Don't Worry Darling]], [[Wicked (2024 film)|Wicked]]'' and ''[[Wicked: For Good]]''. Sener is also credited as producer on multiple albums including ''[[Ferdinand (film)|Ferdinand]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ferdinand (Original Motion Picture Score) Credits |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/11302635-John-Powell-Ferdinand-Original-Motion-Picture-Score |website=Produced by John Powell & Batu Sener |date=2017 }}</ref> ''[[The Call of the Wild (soundtrack)|The Call of the Wild]]''<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Call of the Wild Soundtrack Album Credits |website=[[Discogs]] |date=21 February 2020 |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/14836139-John-Powell-The-Call-of-the-Wild-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack}}</ref> and archival soundtracks from 5 Cat Studios. He has performed on soundtrack festivals and film music concerts across the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://soundtrackfest.com/en/articles/film-music-prague-2019-festival-summary/|title=Film Music Prague 2019 – Festival summary}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hollywood in Hamburg Concert (in German) |date=25 June 2018 |url=https://scoregeek.wordpress.com/2018/06/25/konzert-review-hollywood-in-hamburg-john-powell/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kraków Film Music Festival 2022 |url=https://soundtrackfest.com/en/news/krakow-fmf-2022-audiovisual-forum-en/ |website=Masterclass and Concerts by Batu Sener}}</ref> He also worked as an arranger on Home, a single by [[Nick Jonas]] for the animated film ''Ferdinand''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Various – Ferdinand (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Credits |website=[[Discogs]] |date=2017 |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/13933384-Various-Ferdinand-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack}}</ref>
==Filmography== ===As a score composer=== {| class="wikitable sortable" width=100% |- ! width="30" | Year ! width="200" | Title ! width="150" | Director ! width="300" | Note(s) ! Studio(s)/Publisher(s) |- | rowspan="2" |2022 |'''''[[The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild]]'''''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shuler |first=Skyler |date=2021-08-03 |title=Batu Sener to Score Disney+ 'Ice Age' Spin-Off 'Ice Age: Adventures of Buck Wild' |url=https://thedisinsider.com/2021/08/03/batu-sener-to-score-disney-ice-age-spin-off-ice-age-adventures-of-buck-wild/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Daily Disney News |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=says |first=JackS |title=Batu Sener Scoring Disney+'s 'Ice Age: Adventures of Buck Wild' {{!}} Film Music Reporter |url=https://filmmusicreporter.com/2021/08/02/batu-sener-scoring-disneys-ice-age-adventures-of-buck-wild/ |access-date=2025-02-06 |language=en-US}}</ref> |John C. Donkin |Original theme music composed by [[John Powell (film composer)|John Powell]]<br>Nominated for a Public Choice Award at the [[World Soundtrack Awards]] in 2022<ref>{{cite web |last=Kasule |first=Melissa |date=2022-09-16 |title=World Soundtrack Awards unveils second wave of 2022 nominations |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/world-soundtrack-awards-unveils-second-wave-of-2022-nominations/5174522.article?referrer=RSS |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=Screen }}</ref><br>Winner for a Best Streaming Media Award at the [[BMI Film & TV Awards]] in 2023<ref>{{Cite web |title=2023 BMI Film, TV & Visual Media Award |url=https://www.bmi.com/award-shows/film-tv-2023/ |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=BMI.com}}</ref> |[[Walt Disney Pictures]]<br>[[20th Century Studios]]<br>[[20th Century Animation]]<br>[[Bardel Entertainment]] |- |'''''[[Ice Age: Scrat Tales]]'''''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://filmmusicreporter.com/2022/02/22/batu-sener-scoring-disneys-ice-age-scrat-tales/|title=Batu Sener Scoring Disney+'s 'Ice Age: Scrat Tales' | Film Music Reporter}}</ref> |Donnie Long |Last feature film by [[Blue Sky Studios]]<br>End title theme music composed by [[John Powell (film composer)|John Powell]]<br>Nominated for "Best Score in a TV Show/Limited Series" at the [[Hollywood Music in Media Awards]] in 2022<ref>{{Cite web |title=2022 HMMA Nominations and Winners |url=https://www.hmmawards.com/2022-hmma-nominations-and-winners/ |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=Hollywood Music In Media Awards |language=en-US}}</ref> |[[Blue Sky Studios]]<br>[[20th Century Animation]] |- | rowspan="2" |2023 |'''''[[Atatürk (film)|Atatürk 1881 - 1919]]''''' | rowspan="2" |Mehmet Ada Öztekin | rowspan="3" |Additional music composed by Markus Siegel | rowspan="2" |Lanistar Media |- |'''''[[Atatürk (film)|Atatürk II 1881 - 1919]]''''' |- |2024 |'''''[[Harold and the Purple Crayon (film)|Harold and the Purple Crayon]]'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Batu Sener Scoring Carlos Saldanha's 'Harold and the Purple Crayon' {{!}} Film Music Reporter |url=https://filmmusicreporter.com/2023/02/10/batu-sener-scoring-carlos-saldanhas-harold-and-the-purple-crayon/ |access-date=2025-02-06 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024) - Soundtrack.Net |url=https://www.soundtrack.net/movie/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-2023/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=www.soundtrack.net}}</ref> |[[Carlos Saldanha]] |[[Columbia Pictures]]<br>[[Davis Entertainment]] |- | rowspan="2" |2025 |'''''[[Better Man (film)|Better Man]]'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Batu Sener Scoring Michael Gracey's 'Better Man' {{!}} Film Music Reporter |url=https://filmmusicreporter.com/2024/02/28/batu-sener-scoring-michael-graceys-better-man/ |access-date=2025-02-06 |language=en-US}}</ref> |[[Michael Gracey]] |Winner for an [[AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score]] in 2025<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brandle |first=Lars |date=2025-02-06 |title=2025 AACTA Awards Industry Gala: All the Winners |url=https://au.variety.com/2025/awards/news/2025-aacta-awards-industry-winners-20052/ |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=Variety Australia |language=en-AU}}</ref> |[[Paramount Pictures]] |- |'''[[Xfinity]] x [[Wicked: For Good]]''' |[[Alice Brooks]] |Comcast Xfinity's co-promotional short film<ref>{{Cite web |title='Wicked: For Good' Star Jeff Goldblum Brings the Magic of Oz Home with Xfinity |url=https://corporate.comcast.com/press/releases/wicked-for-good-jeff-goldblum-imagine-that-xfinity |url-status=live}}</ref> |[[Comcast]]<br>[[Universal Pictures]] |}
===As an additional music composer=== {| class="wikitable sortable" width="100%" |- ! width="30" | Year ! width="200" | Title ! width="150" | Director(s) ! width="300" | Lead Composer |- |2015 |''[[Pan (2015 film)|Pan]]'' |[[Joe Wright]] | rowspan="16" |[[John Powell (film composer)|John Powell]] |- |2016 |''[[Jason Bourne (film)|Jason Bourne]]'' |[[Paul Greengrass]] |- |2017 |''[[Ferdinand (film)|Ferdinand]]'' |[[Carlos Saldanha]] |- |2018 |''[[Solo: A Star Wars Story]]'' |[[Ron Howard]] |- |2019 |''[[How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World]]'' |[[Dean DeBlois]] |- |2020 |''[[The Call of the Wild (2020 film)|The Call of the Wild]]'' |[[Chris Sanders]] |- |2021 |''[[Locked Down (film)|Locked Down]]'' |[[Doug Liman]] |- |2022 |''[[Don't Worry Darling]]'' |[[Olivia Wilde]] |- | rowspan="2" |2023 |''[[Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie]]'' |[[Davis Guggenheim]] |- |''[[Migration (2023 film)|Migration]]'' |[[Benjamin Renner]] |- | rowspan="3" |2024 |''[[Thelma the Unicorn]]'' |[[Jared and Jerusha Hess|Jared Hess]]<br>Lynn Wang |- |''[[That Christmas]]'' |[[Simon Otto]] |- |''[[Wicked (2024 film)|Wicked]]'' |[[Jon M. Chu]] |- | rowspan="2" |2025 |''[[How to Train Your Dragon (2025 film)|How to Train Your Dragon]]'' |[[Dean DeBlois]] |- |''[[Wicked: For Good]]'' |[[Jon M. Chu]] |- |2026 |''[[Minions & Monsters]]'' |[[Pierre Coffin]] |}
== Studio albums == {| class="wikitable sortable" width="100%" |- ! width="30" | Year ! width="200" | Title !Notes ! width="150" | Label !Catalogue |- |2016 |The Phoenix (Original Motion Picture Score) |Score to the film by the same title directed by Jim DanDee |Crashington Music<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Crashington Music Catalogue |website=[[Discogs]] |url=https://www.discogs.com/label/3444871-Crashington-Music}}</ref> |CM001 |- |2019 |Lugano Impressions |Sener's first studio album for chamber music. Includes 'Lugano Suite' for cello and piano. Performed by Charlie Tyler and Batu Sener. Written, Recorded and Produced at 5 Cat Studios by John Michael Caldwell. | rowspan="4" |5 Cat Studios<ref>{{Cite web |title=5 Cat Studios Catalogue |website=[[Discogs]] |url=https://www.discogs.com/label/662072-5-Cat-Studios}}</ref> |FCS002 |- |2020 |LII Dies Tenebrarum |A Cappella Choir Single |FCS004 |- |2021 |Piano Solos from "[[How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World]]"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://filmmusicreporter.com/2020/06/01/piano-solos-from-how-to-train-your-dragon-a-hidden-world-released/|title=Piano Solos from 'How to Train Your Dragon: A Hidden World' Released | Film Music Reporter}}</ref> | rowspan="2" |Arranged and Performed by Batu Sener. |FCS005 |- |2020 |Piano Solos from "[[The Call of the Wild (2020 film)|The Call of the Wild]]" |FCS006 |- |2021 |Wade in the Water (Music from the Motion Picture) |From the motion picture title Wade in the Water, directed by [[David Bianchi]]. Music by Batu Sener. Vocals by Onyi Love. | rowspan="4" |Crashington Music<ref name=":0" /> |CM002 |- |2024 |Reset |Traditional Pop album by Ben Fuller. Arranged and Performed by Batu Sener. |CM004 |- |2024 |Night and Day |Single by Ben Fuller. Arranged and Performed by Batu Sener. |CM005 |- |2026 |An Occasional Man |Traditional Pop album by Ben Fuller. Arrangements by Batu Sener. Co-produced with Ben Fuller. Musicians: [[Sean Hurley]], ''bass;'' George Doering, ''guitars;'' Charlie Tyler, ''cello;'' Alec Lubin, ''percussion;'' Batu Sener, ''piano'' |CM007 |}
== See also == * [[:Category:Films scored by Batu Sener]]
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * [https://batusener.com Batu Sener] - Official Site * {{IMDb name|nm4987904}} * {{AllMusic|id=mn0003537700}} * [https://kraft-engel.com/clients/batu-sener/ Batu Sener] - Kraft-Engel Management
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sener, Batu}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Male film score composers]] [[Category:Animated film score composers]] [[Category:Berklee College of Music alumni]] [[Category:Blue Sky Studios people]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]