Laura Anne Karpman is an Americancomposer whose work has included music for film, television, video games, theater, and the concert hall. She has won fiveEmmy Awards for her work, as well as anAcademy Award nomination forBest Original Score. Karpman was trained atthe Juilliard School, where she playedjazz by day and honed her skillsscatting in bars at night.
Karpman was born in Los Angeles and grew up singing opera and jazz.[1] Her mother, a painter and sculptor, wanted her to grow up to be a composer and surrounded Karpman with music even before she was born.[2] Karpman began her first compositions at the age of 7.[3]
Compositions by Karpman have been commissioned byTonya Pinkins,Los Angeles Opera,American Composers Orchestra,Czech Philharmonic, the Juilliard Choral Union, Pacific Serenades,[6] and percussionistEvelyn Glennie. They have been performed internationally.[7] Karpman's theater catalog includes three musicals for Los Angeles's "A Noise Within" theater company, as well as underscores for dozens of classic plays.[8] Among her media music credits areSteven Spielberg's Emmy-winning, 20-hour TV miniseries,Taken; andPBS's seriesThe Living Edens (for which she received nineEmmy nominations). She has scored numerous films, television programs and video games (including music for supplementalHalo 3 materials and her award-winning score forEverQuest II).[9]
She has held a residency at Sony Online Entertainment.[9] Karpman received anAnnie Award nomination forA Monkey's Tale, a short film commissioned by the Chinese government, which later premiered in the US and was performed by theDetroit Symphony.
In 2014, Karpman co-founded theAlliance for Women Film Composers withLolita Ritmanis andMiriam Cutler.[11] The organization provides visibility and advocacy for women composers.[12] In 2016, Karpman became the first woman elected to the music branch of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors.[13]
Karpman is married to composer Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum, a fellow Milton Babbitt student.[20] They have one son and live inPlaya del Rey, California, in a duplex with an ocean view and a built-in studio.[3][21]
She has a self-described lifelong obsession for drama, including soap opera, classical operas, and plays.[3]
2008 nomination, "Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Music and Sound" forCraft in America
2003 nomination, "Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Music and Sound" forThe Living Edens for "Big Sur: California's Wild Coast". Nomination shared with Nancy Severinsen, Clifford Hoelscher, Mark Linden, and Tara Paul.
2001 nomination, "Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft – Music" forThe Living Edens episode "Kamchatka: Siberia's Forbidden Wilderness"
2000 nominations, "Outstanding Achievement in a Craft in News and Documentary Programming – Music"
forThe Living Edens episode "Costa Rica: Land of Pure Life"
forThe Living Edens episode "Palau: Paradise of the Pacific"
1999 win, "Outstanding Achievement in a Craft in News and Documentary Programming – Music" forThe Living Edens episode "Madagascar: A World Apart"
1998 win, "Outstanding Achievement in a Craft in News and Documentary Programming – Music" forThe Living Edens episodes "Denali: Alaska's Great Wilderness", "Manu: Peru's Hidden Rain Forest", "Patagonia: Life at the End of the Earth"
