Leo Birenberg is an American composer and orchestrator for film and television.

Career

Born in Kentucky and raised in Chicago, Birenberg studied composition at

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institutio ...

and

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

. While there, he started composing his first scores in collaboration with his roommate, filmmaker Jeremy Reitz. His favorite score is from ''

Out of Africa ''Out of Africa'' is a memoir by the Danish people, Danish author Karen Blixen. The book, first published in 1937, recounts events of the eighteen years when Blixen made her home in Kenya, then called East Africa Protectorate, British East Africa ...

''. After graduating, he had a chance encounter with composer

Christophe Beck Jean-Christophe Beck (born in 1968) is a Canadian television and film score composer. He is best known for his collaborations with Disney and its subsidiaries, which include composing the soundtracks of '' The Muppets'' (2011) and '' Muppets Mos ...

, who ended up taking Birenberg on as a mentee. Under Beck's tutelage, Birenberg worked as the score coordinator on numerous large projects, including ''The Muppets'', ''

Pitch Perfect ''Pitch Perfect'' is a 2012 American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore and written by Kay Cannon. It features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Rebel Wilson, Adam DeVine, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Hana M ...

'', ''

Runner Runner ''Runner Runner'' is a 2013 American crime thriller film directed by Brad Furman, written by Brian Koppelman and David Levien and starring Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck, Gemma Arterton and Anthony Mackie. The film was released in the United ...

'', and ''Frozen''. In 2014, Birenberg started composing additional music for Beck’s films, including ''

Muppets Most Wanted ''Muppets Most Wanted'' is a 2014 American musical crime comedy film directed by James Bobin, produced by David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman, and written by Bobin and Nicholas Stoller. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Mandeville Films, it is ...

'', ''

Edge of Tomorrow ''Edge of Tomorrow'' is a 2014 American science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Doug Liman and written by Christopher McQuarrie and the writing team of Jez Butterworth, Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, loosely based on th ...

'', and ''Ant-Man''. In 2014, Birenberg also started composing his own original scores for television shows, including ''Next Time on Lonny'', ''The Britishes'', ''

Big Time in Hollywood, FL ''Big Time in Hollywood, FL'' is an American sitcom created and written by Alex Anfanger and Dan Schimpf. A 10-episode first season was ordered by the American cable television network Comedy Central, which premiered on March 25, 2015. Comedy ...

'', and the YouTube Red series ''

Sing It! ''Sing It!'' is an Television of the United States, American situation comedy streaming television series created by Fine Brothers, Benny Fine and Rafi Fine. It is executive produced by Benny Fine, Rafi Fine, Max Benator, Todd Lieberman, David Ho ...

'' In 2016, Birenberg received an email from producer Eric Appel, and asked to compose music for the then-upcoming FX series ''

Son of Zorn ''Son of Zorn'' is an American animated/live action sitcom created by Reed Agnew and Eli Jorné for Fox. The series stars Cheryl Hines, Johnny Pemberton, Tim Meadows, Artemis Pebdani, and Jason Sudeikis as the voice of Zorn. ''Son of Zorn'' i ...

''. Upon approaching the series, he took the original up-beat synth-heavy score and replaced it with something that spanned a vast array of musical styles, sampling the styles of country music and church choirs. In 2017, Birenberg released a soundtrack for the show. That same year, Birenberg also started composing music for the Seeso original series ''Take My Wife''. He also composed the score for the 2017 comedy ''

F the Prom ''F the Prom'' (also known as ''F*&% the Prom'') is a 2017 American teen comedy film directed and produced by Benny Fine and written by him, Rafi Fine, and Molly Prather. In the film, two estranged best friends reunite due to unfortunate circums ...

''. In 2018, Birenberg co-composed YouTube and Sony series ''

Cobra Kai ''Cobra Kai'' is an American Martial arts film, martial arts comedy drama television series created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, and distributed by Sony Pictures Television. It serves as a sequel to the first three ''The K ...

'' with composer Zach Robinson. They also scored the subsequent seasons through to season six. In addition, he recently scored the music for Dreamworks' '' Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny. In 2019, Leo composed the music for Hulu's ''

Pen15 ''Pen15'' is an American comedy television series, created by Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, and Sam Zvibleman, that premiered on February 8, 2019, on Hulu. The series stars Erskine and Konkle, who also serve as executive producers alongside Zvibl ...

.'' He also recently scored Adult Swim's animated series ''

Tigtone ''Tigtone'' is an American adult animated television series that premiered on Adult Swim on January 14, 2019. It is based on the original characters of an independent short, ''The Begun of Tigtone'', created by Andrew Koehler, Benjamin Martian, ...

'' and

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

selection Plus One.

Awards and honors

The joint score with Zach Robinson for '' Weird: The Al Yankovic Story'' won the 2023

Primetime Emmy The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score). The duo also gained the following nominations: * Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media at the 2024

Grammys The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

* Best Score - Streamed Live Action Film in the 2022 Hollywood Music in Media * Outstanding Original Score for an Independent Film at the 4th

SCL Awards The Society of Composers & Lyricists is an organization founded in 1983 to represent composers and lyricists working in visual media, such as television and film. It sought union status in 1984 after the dissolution of the Composers and Lyricists G ...

. Their music for ''Cobra Kai'' has had the following nominations: *

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

's Composer’s Choice Award for the Television Score of the Year category in 2021 *

's Composer’s Choice Award for the Television Score of the Year category in 2023. *

IFMCA The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is a professional association for music journalism, online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing about film score, original film and television music. History and purpose ...

's Best Original Score for Television in 2025.

Filmography

Films

Television

Shorts

Video Games

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birenberg, Leo American film score composers American male film score composers American television composers Living people American male television composers Primetime Emmy Award winners Year of birth missing (living people)