Rocío Bolaños is a versatile clarinettist specialised in contemporary and experimental music. Emigrating to the U.K. in 2009, Rocio completed her Postgraduate studies at the Royal Northern College of Music followed by a Junior Fellowship and International Artist Diploma supported by Buffet Crampon. In 2017 she began a specialised Master programme in contemporary music performance at the Hochschule der Künste in Bern. 

Rocio has worked with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé Orchestra in the UK and the Madrid Symphony Orchestra in Spain.

She has performed as a guest musician with Riot Ensemble, Explore Ensemble, and Switch Ensemble.

Rocio received the Help Musicians ‘Do It Differently’ award in 2022 which saw her self-produce a recording project of music by Santiago Díez-Fischer which was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Rocio’s work has developed with an increasing emphasis on improvisation where she has become well-integrated into the London free improv scene. Beginning in 2020, Rocio maintains an on-going collaborative relationship with Panos Ghikas focused on the creation a real-time composition for bass clarinet and fixed media. The work utilises techniques of real-time audio collage in the form of a video-score for directed improvisation and explores video notation and instructional strategies for performers with live or fixed audio-visual counterpart.

Additionally, Rocio is a passionate mentor and educator holding a senior teaching position at the Da Capo music Foundation offering woodwind instrumental lessons and musicianship classes under the umbrella of the Kodály methodology. Since September 2022 she has been coaching teenage students in the Youth Orchestra of Andalucia, Spain.

Alongside her active career as a musician, Rocio is also pursuing a diploma in Counselling.