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 university, private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-United States Secretary of the Treasu ...

and

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

. While there, he started composing his first scores in collaboration with his roommate, filmmaker Jeremy Reitz. After graduating, he had a chance encounter with composer

Christophe Beck Jean-Christophe Beck (born November 30, 1972) is a Canadian television and film score composer and conductor. He is a brother of pianist Chilly Gonzales. He is best known for his collaborations with Disney and its subsidiaries, which include comp ...

, 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, Rebel Wilson, Skylar Astin, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Hana Mae Lee, Alexis Knap ...

'', ''

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 S ...

'', 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 and the eighth theatrical film featuring the Muppets. Directed by James Bobin and written by Bobin and Nicholas Stoller, the film is a sequel to ''The Muppets'' (2011) and stars ...

'', ''

Edge of Tomorrow ''Edge of Tomorrow'' (also known as ''Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow'') is a 2014 American science fiction action film starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt with Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson in supporting roles. Directed by Doug Liman with ...

'', 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 comedy television series 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 ...

'', and the YouTube Red series ''

Sing It! ''Sing It!'' is an American situation comedy streaming television series created by Benny Fine and Rafi Fine. It is executive produced by Benny Fine, Rafi Fine, Max Benator, Todd Lieberman, David Hoberman, Laurie Zaks, Barry Safchik, and Micha ...

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

Son of Zorn A son is a male reproduction, offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and s ...

''. 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 circum ...

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

Cobra Kai ''Cobra Kai'' is an American martial arts comedy-drama television series and a sequel to the original ''The Karate Kid'' films by Robert Mark Kamen. The series was created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, and is distributed b ...

'' with composer Zach Robinson. They also scored the second season, airing in April 2019. 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 cringe 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 Z ...

.'' 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, a ...

'' and

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

selection Plus One.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

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