Four-time Emmy winner Laura Karpman is one of few women scoring film and television. Equally fluent in jazz, classical and world music, she possesses a remarkable breadth of experience. Laura Karpman was a prodigy who began writing music from the age of seven. She grew up composing and performing classical music, studying with legendary teacher Nadia Boulanger. Karpman went on to receive her doctorate at Juilliard under renowned composer Milton Babbitt.

After a decade in New York, during which she enjoyed remarkable success as a composer of concert music—decorated by the American Academy of Arts and Letters amongst others—Karpman was invited to study at the Sundance Film Scoring Workshop. At Sundance, working with composers David Newman, Dave Grusin, David Raskin and Shirley Walker, Laura discovered the revolution in progress in the world of music based on the new computer technology. Moving to LA shortly thereafter, she established herself within two years.

Karpman recently scored Steven Spielberg and Leslie Bohem’s Emmy winning epic miniseries TAKEN for Dreamworks and the SciFi Channel. This project, the biggest miniseries ever made, stars Dakota Fanning. She just received an Emmy nomination for the score to Showtime’s series, ODYSSEY 5, produced by Manny Coto and starring Peter Weller.

Based on her huge success with the score for TAKEN, Karpman was brought on to score EVERQUEST II, the second incarnation of Sony’s smash hit Massive Multi-User Online Video Game, EVERQUEST. EVERQUEST II is among the new generation of video games now incorporating live orchestras.

Karpman’s recent feature work includes, FATHERS AND SONS, an independent ensemble drama written and directed by Rodrigo Garcia, Jarred Rappaport, and Rob Sperra. Her other feature works include Miramax’s THE BREAKUP starring Bridget Fonda and Keifer Sutherland, directed by “Prime Suspect” producer Paul Marcus, director Jule Gilfilan’s RESTLESS, the first US co-production with the People’s Republic of China, and the most recent feature by world-renowned director Charles Burnett, THE ANNIHILATION OF FISH, starring Lynn Redgrave and James Earl Jones.

THE LIVING EDENS, an extraordinary series of documentaries about the world’s last unspoiled environments that marshaled the talents of top documentary filmmakers, earned Karpman four Emmys, and six nominations, in the category of Best Individual Achievement in Music. She has also received acclaim for other television work such as actress Kathy Bates’ directorial debut DASH ANDLILLY; Sally Field’s mini-series A WOMANOF INDEPENDENT MEANS; and the groundbreaking DOING TIME ON MAPLEDRIVE featuring Jim Carrey.

Parallel to her film and television composing, Karpman has a distinguished career as a composer of concert music. Her works have been performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Tanglewood Music Festival. Among her recent commissions is a trio for flute, harp, and viola for the acclaimed ensemble, The Debussy Trio. This exciting new work, ABOUT JOSHUA, premiered June 1, 2003 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Other recent concert commissions include FILIBUSTER, for avant-garde electric violist Martha Mooke, an untitled bassoon concerto for Lumír Vanek, principal bassoonist for the Prague Symphony Orchestra, ROUNDS FOR VIOLA AND PIANO for Evan Wilson, principal violist of the LA Philharmonic, PLUM SUGAR for the new West Hollywood Orchestra, and a song cycle by Boulder’s Sound Circle. She has had commissions by the Concordia, the American Composers Orchestra, the New York Youth Symphony and her works have also been performed by the Lydian String Quartet, The Women’s Philharmonic, and the Richmond Symphony.

A frequent composer for the theatre, Karpman recently completed her first opera, ESCAPE, originally commissioned for the LA Opera. During her ongoing association with the Georgia Shakespeare Festival, she has composed underscore for TWELFTH NIGHT, A COMEDY OF ERRORS, and Moliére’s THE MISER and songs and underscore for THE TEMPEST. She is scheduled to score Sabin Epstein’s production of WHAT THE BUTLER SAW this summer. Her next commission for Los Angeles’ classical theatre company, A Noise Within, will be the underscore for Euripides ELECTRA, scheduled for March 2004. A WILDE HOLIDAY, a concert reading of Oscar Wilde’s fairy tales, The Selfish Giant, The Happy Prince and The Star Child, is another collaboration with director Sabin Epstein. Karpman received critical acclaim at its premiere and it is returning to ANW for the third year. She has also received acclaim for numerous ANW productions, including the underscore of Moliére’s MISANTHROPE, songs and underscore for THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, AS YOU LIKE IT, and a musical version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL.

Karpman’s numerous awards include a Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, two ASCAP Foundation grants, multiple Meet the Composer grants and a Vogelstein Foundation grant, as well as residencies at Tanglewood, the McDowell Colony and the Sundance Institute.