Ronit Kirchman
Co-President
Taura Stinson
Co-President
EmmoLei Sankofa
VP of Outreach and Inclusion
Daisy Coole
Secretary
Holly Amber Church
Treasurer
Ronit Kirchman
Ronit Kirchman is a composer expanding the frontiers of film and television music, recognized in the press as "an extremely original voice" with "a virtuoso touch", and "a truly unique force in the entertainment industry". Ronit's recent scores include the popular horror dramedy series Pretty Little Liars: Summer School (HBO Max), the dramatic feature American Solitaire (executive produced by David Oyelowo and Lisa Bruce), and the ambitious orchestral-electronic hybrid music of sci-fi film Fractal. Ronit has gained acclaim for her innovative, genre-bending score for the Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated series The Sinner, which was named one of IndieWire's Best TV Scores two years in a row. Other projects include Kirchman's collaboration with Jessica Biel on Limetown, a dystopian thriller series based on the hit podcast (Peacock) ; a powerful horror-drama score for Evil Eye (Amazon/Blumhouse) which won her a Hollywood Music In Media Award for Best Original Score ; and Manscaping, a provocative documentary. Her soundtrack albums are available from 22D, Water Tower Music, Lakeshore Records, and Wild River Records.
The recipient of multiple awards from the Sundance Institute, New Music USA, BMI, HΜΜΑ, American Composers Forum, and many others, Ronit is also a prolific songwriter, music producer, conductor, violinist, improviser, multi-instrumentalist, and singer. Growing up in New York City, Kirchman began playing violin at age four. While at Yale, she studied under Erick Friedman, a protégé of the legendary Jascha Heifetz. Ronit got her start as a composer and music director in NYC theater, and continues to compose original music for theater, dance, multimedia installations, and the concert stage.Ronit's discography includes work as a performer, producer and arranger, with recordings on 22D, Water Tower Music, Lakeshore Records, Wild River Records, Rounder, Rhino, Cerulean, Nine Winds, pfMentum, emr, Meta Records, Innova, Biophilia, and Vitamin, among others. She has performed and recorded internationally in many contexts, including free improvisation, classical, live electronica, rock, pop, jazz, blues, multi-cultural fusion, and country. Ronit has also collaborated with software manufacturers such as Eventide and Vienna Symphonic Library in creating custom software content, as well as programs about film scoring and sound design. As a storyteller beyond music, she is a poet, author, and visual artist.
Ronit is passionate about contributing to the creative community as an educator and mentor. As a board member of the Alliance for Women Film Composers, she co-founded its world-class Mentorship Program and served as one of its mentors. A longtime voting member of the Recording Academy and Television Academy, she is currently a mentor for BMI's prestigious Pete Carpenter Fellowship program, and has also been Composer-In-Residence at Columbia College Chicago, where she has taught multiple MFA film scoring seminars and led courses in systems-based composition and narrative-centered music. Ronit has taught as a guest lecturer at USC, Berklee School of Music, CalArts (where she received her MFA), Tufts, SCAD, and Occidental College, as well as other universities and music festivals such as FMP/Berlin and the Sundance Institute, on various topics including film scoring, narrative and movement-based approaches to musical improvisation, career development, voice work, and performance practice.
For more information, visit her website: ronitkirchman.com.
Taura Stinson
Taura Stinson is a Birmingham-born, Oakland-raised, Los Angeles-based Oscar, Golden Globe,
and Emmy-nominated songwriter, composer, and librettist. Her work spans film, television, and
global stages, with credits including Thelma the Unicorn, Rio 2, CARMEN, Cruella, Beyond the
Lights, and Blitz.
A storyteller at heart, Taura’s range extends from writing a song that opened the Olympic Games
to collaborating with composers such as Laura Karpman, Nicholas Britell and Raphael Saadiq.
Her contributions can be heard in projects including Men in Black, Mudbound, Don’t Look Up,
and the documentary STEP, featuring the Critics’ Choice Award-winning Best Song, “Jump.” She
has also written original songs for film and television, including work for artists such as Mary J.
Blige, Steven Tyler, Usher, Brittany Howard, Brandy, and Jennifer Hudson, among others.
Her television work includes Harlem, Reasonable Doubt, Central Park, The L Word: Generation
Q, and the theme song for Marvel’s Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur.
Deeply committed to advocacy and representation, Taura serves on the board of Alliance of
Women Film Composers and the SCL Foundation, and chairs the Black Caucus Affinity Group at
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She has also mentored through She Is The Music,
GRAMMY Next, and Academy Gold Program.
She is also the founder of Dreaming When I Wrote This Media, a creative home for original music,
narrative storytelling for film and television, and independently published books, including her
celebrated book 100 Things Every Black Girl Should Know. Her next release, The Gift of Again,
co-written with her mother and centered on stroke prevention and recovery, will be released in
May 2026
Emmolei Sankofa
EmmoLei Sankofa, an American composer, producer, musician, artist, and creative entrepreneur, channels her expansive creativity across music, visual media, and fine art. Recently nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the inaugural Outstanding Original Score for Film/TV category, EmmoLei's innovative compositions have left an indelible mark on acclaimed productions such as Hulu's The Other Black Girl, Three Ways, Disney+'s Project CC, Lizzo’s Emmy-Award winning series Watch Out For the Big Grrrls and much more.
Daisy Coole
London-based film & TV composer and saxophonist Daisy Coole writes in a duo with Tom Nettleship. Their music has been nominated for Best Television Score (Music and Sound Awards 2023), featured in the New York Times and at the United Nations General Assembly, and performed live at the Royal Albert Hall. Recent scores include TV drama The Wives, BFI London Film Festival Audience Award-winning short film Two Minutes and upcoming feature Welcome to the Fishbowl starring Natalie Gold (Succession), Jeremy Swift (Ted Lasso) and Marin Hinkle (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel).
Thomas Mikusz
Emmy-nominated composer Holly Amber Church, aka the "Scream Queen of Scoring," is a versatile talent with a diverse portfolio spanning many film and TV genres. Notably, she received an Emmy nomination for her Main Title theme for GUILLERMO DEL TORO'S CABINET OF CURIOSITIES on Netflix. Holly's impressive body of work includes scoring films like MIRANDA'S VICTIM, ELI ROTH'S BE MINE: AVR VALENTINE'S SLASHER, OPEN 24 HOURS, DARK LIGHT, and THE RUNNER. She's currently working on the documentary, THE DONN OF TIKI.
Her exceptional talent has earned her several accolades, including a 2023 ASCAP Composer's ChoiceAward nomination, two best score awards for A BAND TO HONOR, and the Best Original Score award atthe 2020 Women in Horror Film Festival forFELLOWSHIP. An accomplished alumni of USC's ScreenScoring program and member of the Alliance for Women Film Composers, Holly's dedication, creativity,and collaborative spirit make her a sought-after composer
GRAMMY winner Lili Haydn’s six critically acclaimed major label recordings as a solo artist have been NPR favorites, and her legendary collaborations include everyone from Herbie Hancock, Sting, Jimmy Page & Robert Plant, the LA Philharmonic, Roger Waters, and George Clinton's P-Funk All Stars to name a few.
Lili’s film composing career started as part of Hans Zimmer’s team, a fellowship with the Sundance Institute, and has blossomed into 16 feature films/documentaries to her credit (including ANITA, The House That Jack Built, Sundance Selects’ DriverX), and the record breaking hit Netflix series Ginny & Georgia. Lili is a BMI Award winner, won Best Music at the Milan International Film Festival, and is enjoying the recent releases of Oscar winner Freida Mock’s documentary RUTH: Justice Ginsburg in Her Own Words, Oscar nominee Michele Ohayon’s Netflix documentary Strip Down Rise Up, and looks forward to the release of Season 2 of Ginny & Georgia.
As the daughter of iconic feminist comedienne Lotus Weinstock, and a graduate of Brown University in political science, Lili is a life long activist, and believes music and stories have the power to heal and uplift…important now more than ever.
Zoë Lustri (she/her) is a songwriter and composer from Austin, Texas, and one half of the film scoring duo Lustri Di Giorgio, alongside Adamo Di Giorgio. Zoë loves to write music and hates to write bios.
From the age of 5, Zoë was composing songs about playtime and the challenges of childhood authority. Her passion for music has only grown since, driven by her love for the collaborative nature of music and her eagerness to write for media. She thrives on the opportunity to work with new people, exploring the fusion of creative ideas.
Zoë holds a Bachelor's Degree in Film Scoring from Berklee College of Music. After graduating, she relocated to Los Angeles, where she interned for renowned composers Bear McCreary and Henry Jackman. She currently works at Joy Music House, contributing to score production on projects like the Emmy & Oscar-nominated RBG and Emile Mosseri's Oscar-nominated and BAFTA award-winning score for Minari.
When not deeply involved in music for media, Zoë dedicates time to her personal music projects. In 2020, she released her debut single "Something Good," which received mixed reviews for its commercial sound but was praised for its strong, prominent vocals and introspective lyrics discussing depression. The single, featuring an ambient, cinematic, and driving sonic palette, was followed by tracks like "Feeling It Now" and "Aquarium Store," showcasing her evolving artistry. With an impressive 227 Instagram followers and 44 Spotify listeners, Zoë Lustri continues to redefine what it means to be an "icon."
Together with Adamo, Zoë continues to innovate in the field of film scoring, bringing a unique blend of individual artistry and collaborative magic to their compositions as Lustri Di Giorgio.
EmmoLei Sankofa, an American composer, producer, musician, artist, and creative entrepreneur, channels her expansive creativity across music, visual media, and fine art. Recently nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the inaugural Outstanding Original Score for Film/TV category, EmmoLei's innovative compositions have left an indelible mark on acclaimed productions such as Hulu's "The Other Black Girl, Three Ways, Disney+'s Project CC, Lizzo’s Emmy-Award winning series Watch Out For the Big Grrrls and much more. Additionally, her work has graced screens at HBO, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, Lionsgate, Warner Bros, and various film festivals worldwide. In addition to her remarkable body of work as a composer, EmmoLei has led as sound supervisor on projects for major brands such as Nike, Pandora, Vans, Kamala Harris for the People, and Pulse Films, and more through her creative audio company, Bèl Son.
EmmoLei's diverse discography comprises over twenty-one independently released albums, EPs, and singles, showcasing a fusion of soul, jazz, classical, and rhythm and blues. Notably, her single "Don’t Fight" was featured on Adult Swim’s OPUS compilation album. A dynamic percussionist, EmmoLei has shared the stage with the likes of Nelly, Ella Mai, and Kurt Schneider. Her debut on Mobley’s Devil in a Daydream Virtual Tour marked a significant milestone in her career as a solo act. An alum of the Sundance Composers Lab and Recording Academy NEXT program, EmmoLei has been guided by esteemed figures in the Film/TV and music industry and championed as an emerging talent and influential voice among the next generation of industry leaders.
EmmoLei’s work has garnered attention on various platforms, including Hollywood Records “The Big Score,” The Karen Hunter Show, The Film Scorer, Lyrical Lemonade, OC Weekly, Billboard, and more. She was inducted into the inaugural class of Hampton University’s Young Alumni 40 under 40 honorees and served as SCAD Atlanta’s alumni speaker for the 2023 Commencement ceremony.
EmmoLei indulges her curiosity outside her artistic endeavors through boxing, nutrition, wellness, the art of business, coffee science, design, and beyond.
London composer duo, Daisy Coole and Tom Nettleship began scoring film and television under the name 'Two Twenty Two' in 2015. Nominated for 'Best Television Score' (Music and Sound Awards 2023) for Primetime Drama series 'For Her Sins' (Gaumont for Channel 5), their music has been featured in the New York Times and the United Nations General Assembly, performed live at the Royal Albert Hall, and has won a Royal Television Society East craft award for short documentary ‘Nial Adams’.
Notable feature film scores in recent years include award-winning US drama ‘Ask For Jane’ starring Sarah Steele (The Good Wife) and Alison Wright (The Americans), Rohingya refugee documentary ‘Shanti Khana’ narrated by Ashley Judd, and British comedy heist 'The Pay Day' (Starz, Amazon) starring Simon Callow. The soundtrack for The Pay Day was released on the MovieScore Media label.
Their collaborations with dancers includes ‘Botis Seva: Air’, a documentary/dance film starring the Olivier Award-winning choreographer in a rare solo outing, and ‘Swing, Sister, Swing’, a narrative swing dance show with a score recorded by a 16-piece all-women big band.
In recent years, they have worked with Sound Designer & Mixer Dom Lancaster as a full-service Music and Post-Sound team on both feature and short films, including BFI Network short, 'Home By 8.30' (nominated for Best Score at Beeston Film Festival), 'My Condolences to Your Future Lovers' (nominated for Best Music at Underwire Film Festival) and and upcoming feature films 'Another Day to Live Through' (UK/Finland psychological horror).
Daisy is a Board member for the global organisation Alliance for Women Film Composers and regularly hosts and speaks on panels for organisations including WFTV, Adam & Eve/DDB and BUMA Music in Motion. She is a full voting member of BAFTA, has served on juries for BAFTA TV Craft, Ivor Novello Awards and the Music and Sound Awards, and was selected as a 2023 Mentee on WFTV’s prestigious Four Nations Mentoring Scheme.
Mandy Hoffman is a visionary composer who has been writing for various mediums for over a decade, and is a member of The Academy. She has scored numerous films, series, advertisements, and art installations that have appeared in theaters, top film festivals, television networks and galleries all over the world. Recently her music has moved to the concert stage, with works premiered by The Orchestra Moderne at Lincoln Center (2019) and The Hollywood Chamber Orchestra at The Wiltern in Los Angeles (2018).
Her collaborations with director Azazel Jacobs have garnered critical acclaim, and her orchestral score to A24's The Lovers (2017) not only received abundant praise from the press, but it ended up on Film Music Magazine's Top Ten Best Scores of 2017. It was also called "..a stealth contender for one of the finest film music of the century so far" by The Moveable Fest. She worked with director Minhal Baig and executive producer Jada Pinkett Smith on the poetic feature Hala (Overbrook Entertainment), which premiered at Sundance 2019 and then on Apple TV+.
Hoffman teamed up with Joey Soloway on the lauded Amazon Studios series titled I Love Dick (2017), and her music can be found on a myriad of television shows. Most recently she scored the Anna Kendrick led comedy, Dummy on Quibi (2020).
She has also collaborated with world-class artists including Marcos Lutyens (Mutually Assured Architectures) and Barbara Husar (Lidschlag der Libelle oder die Schädelnaht am Himmelszvelt) to present installations in distinguished galleries located in New York, Paris, Los Angeles, Vienna, Milan, Switzerland, amd Sweden.
She is a multi-instrumentalist with a keen understanding for dramatic nuance, and can write honestly in many musical styles and genres. She is both versatile and unique. After being told countless times that her music sounded “cinematic”, she pursued serious musical training, first as an multi-award winning student at Pasadena City College’s prestigious music program and then was certified at UCLA Extension’s celebrated Film Scoring Program.
She is active in the composer and film communities, and often appears on panels discussing her craft. She is a repeat guest lecturer at Steinhardt's Screen Scoring Graduate Program (NYU), at Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema/Media Scoring (CUNY), and at Sound Thinking (CAT).
Taura Stinson is a Birmingham, Al born, Oakland raised, and Los Angeles-based Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy nominated songwriter/composer. Her projects include the Netflix’s animated feature, Thelma the Unicorn, featuring collaborations with former Alabama Shakes frontwoman, Brittany Howard, as well as the theme song, “Moon Girl Magic,” written with longtime collaborator Raphael Saadiq for Marvel’s Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur. She and frequent collaborator,NicholasBritellco-wrote“SlipAway,”for the Sony Classicsfilm, CARMEN, “CallMeCruella” for Disney’s CRUELLA, and the Oscar shortlisted song “Just Look Up,” co-written with Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi for the Netflix film DON’T LOOK UP. Their most recent work includes three songs on the Apple Original feature film “BLITZ,” which includes the instant classic, ‘Winter Coat”, performed by Saoirse Ronan.
Alongside Mary J. Blige and Raphael Saadiq, Taura was nominated for a Golden Globe and Academy Award for the soul stirring original song“Mighty River” , featured in the Netflix film Mudbound. She also received a Primetime Emmy nomination for the song "All About Me," created in collaboration with composers Heather McIntosh and Allyson Newman for Showtime's THE L-WORD: GENERATION Q. Her contributions to film and television continue to grow, including a collaboration with Pharrell Williams for his Amazon series HARLEM and with Ali Shaheed-Muhammed and Adrian Younge for the ABC series, Reasonable Doubt. Taura's recent work in film also include original songs for Disney's Better Nate than Ever and Cheaper by the Dozen Taura also provided her A&R expertise to several projects, most notably her work with Music World Entertainment, and BET’s SUNDAY BEST. Her projects include various chartoppers, including the GRAMMY-award winning, single “JESUS” by LeANDRIA JOHNSON. Taura also served as where she wrote and arranged songs for Jacob Latimore, Mary J. Blige, NAS, and Jennifer Hudson, among others.
In RIO 2, as well as writing the Critic's Choice Award-winning song "Jump" performed by Cynthia Erivo, in associate producer for the Fox Film, Black Nativity, addition to these achievements, Taura's early career includes being the lead lyricist for the blockbuster animated feature collaboration with Laura Karpman and Raphael Saadiq, for the documentary feature “STEP”. Taura and Raphael's collaborations have resulted in multiple GRAMMY nominations, including the songs "Good Man" by Raphael and "Show Me the Way" by the legendary band Earth Wind & Fire. Taura's impressive repertoire also includes writing "Be Alright" for Aerosmith's frontman Steven Tyler, as well as "Killing Time", featured on the Men in Black soundtrack and performed by Destiny's Child. One of her lesser-known accomplishments is co-writing the cult-classic hit "Gangsta Lean" aka "This is for my Homies" for the 90's group DRS, which held the top spot on the R&B charts for six weeks and peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Taura has also lent her powerful backing vocals to various chart-topping songs, such as "Bang Bang" by Jesse J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj, "Side to Side" by Ariana Grande, "Nobody Love" by Tori Kelly, "Your Song" by Elton John and Patti Labelle, and "Faith" by Stevie Wonder.
Advocacy is equally important to Taura as art. Over the years, she has mentored for SPARK, ACADEMY GOLD and She Is the Music, among others. She also serves as chair of the The Black Caucas Affinity Group for AMPAS, and is also on the board of the Alliance of Women Film Composers. She is also an independent publisher of the popular book, “100 Things Every Black Girl Should Know: For Girls 10-100” and founder of Believe Become Books, and independent literary publishing house for big dreamers.
Native Texan, Chanda Dancy, started composing orchestral works at the age of 12. She has been described as a “phenomenal composer” (Ted Chung, Zacuto: Featured Filmmakers) and “quickly gaining recognition as a foremost black American contemporary composer.” (Anthony Parnther, Conductor, San Bernardino Symphony). Her works are described as “emotionally penetrating” (John Malveaux, Africlassical.com) and “rich” (George Heymont, Huffington Post ).
An alumnus of the USC Film Scoring Program, and the Sundance Composers Lab, Chanda is both an accomplished film and television composer with over 18 years of experience and an emerging classical concert composer. Arts Boston named her one of “10 Contemporary Black Composers You Should Know”. She is known for her work on the Sundance award winning documentary “Aftershock” (Disney/Onyx Collective), and the hit Netflix TV Original “The Defeated” starring Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights). She is also known for her work with the hugely popular Youtube filmmaking group, Wong Fu Productions, on their debut feature “Everything Before Us”, starring Randall Park (Fresh Off The Boat, Always Be My Maybe).
A bold, incandescent talent, composer Laura Karpman creates powerful, imaginative scores that push the boundaries of storytelling. Her award-winning music, spanning film, television, theater, interactive media and live performance, reflects an audaciously creative, prodigious fresh spirit. Karpman collaborates with some of the most renowned filmmakers of our time including Eleanor, Francis Ford and Sofia Coppola, Nia DaCosta, Alex Gibney, Misha Green, Rory Kennedy, Kasi Lemmons, Laura Nix, Sam Pollard and Steven Spielberg.
2023 has been perhaps her most prolific year to date, with six film and TV projects alone -- Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed (Max), What If? (Disney+), Ms. Marvel (Disney+), 61st Street (The CW), The Marvels (Disney) and American Fiction (MGM/Amazon). 2024 promises season 3 of What If, two unannounced video game projects, and a musical basic on Dorothy Arzner’s MGM film, Dance Girl Dance. Concert music premieres include the world premiere performance of BALLS, an opera chronicling Billie Jean King’s epic 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match with words by New York Times writer Gail Collins, and a commissioned work for the Juilliard School. Karpman was proud to have her theme from The Marvels performed at closing night of the BBC proms.
The five-time Emmy winner’s scores span HBO’s acclaimed hit Lovecraft Country, the Oscar- nominated Walk Run Cha-Cha and the docuseries Why We Hate. Other recent work includes Miss Virginia, Set It Up, Paris Can Wait, The Cotton Club Encore, Step, Black Nativity, Underground, LA’s Finest and the Peabody Award-winning series Craft in America. Karpman has recently received two additional Emmy nominations for Ms. Marvel, an HMMA award for The Marvels and an HMMA and SCL nomination for American Fiction as well as inclusion in the 2024 Oscars shortlist.
Other awards include a 2024 Lifetime achievement award from She Rocks, a Critic’s Choice Award for her song “Jump” (from the film Step), co-written with frequent collaborators Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson, sung by Cynthia Erivo. Her animated work includes Sitara, directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, executive produced by Darla Anderson and Gloria Steinem, and her Annie-nominated score for Monkey’s Tale. Her celebrated scores for interactive media and blockbuster video games include Guardians of Middle Earth, Everquest 2, Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom, Kung Fu Panda 2, Project Spark and Kinect Disneyland Adventures.
Across concert halls, Karpman is well known for her Grammy Award-winning album, Ask Your Mama, a multimedia opera based on the iconic cycle of poems by renowned author Langston Hughes. For this Carnegie Hall commission, Karpman collaborated with The Roots, soprano Jessye Norman, performer De’Andre Aziza and jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon. Other notable works include All American,commissioned and performed by The Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl; Brass Ceiling, commissioned and recorded by the U.S. Army Band; And Still We Dream, commissioned by Lyric Opera of Kansas City, honoring 100 years of suffrage; Wilde Tales, commissioned by Glimmerglass Festival and a pandemic opera for Opera Theatre of St. Louis with libretto by Taura Stinson & Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum.
Karpman is a fierce champion for DEI in Hollywood. After founding the Alliance for Women Film Composers, she was elected the first female Governor in the Music Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. During her two consecutive three-year terms, she implemented sweeping change, facilitating the admission of dozens of underrepresented voices, co-founded the Academy Women’s Initiative, co-chaired the LGBTQ+ Affinity Group, helped to create the Code of Conduct and update the bylaws with more inclusive, representative language. Her leadership in creating opportunity and advocating for inclusion is unparalleled.
Karpman was an advisor for the Sundance Film Institute and is on the faculty of the USC Film Scoring Program. She received a doctorate from The Juilliard School, where she studied with 20th century icon Milton Babbitt.
She lives and works in Los Angeles with her wife, composer Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum, their son and two dogs.
Carla Patullo is an American composer and musician based in Los Angeles. She has toured internationally performing with her band White Widow, and with acclaimed musicians such as Liza Minnelli and Rufus Wainwright and with comedienne Sandra Bernhard. She served as musical director for Bernhard’s I LOVE BEING ME, DON’T YOU album and tour, and has performed at festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival, NXNE, SXSW, and Italy’s Arezzo Wave Festival.
Carla has scored music for over 30 motion pictures. Her credits include My Name Is Maria De Jesus (HBO), the Sundance award-winning film Spa Night (NETFLIX), the SXSW horror comedy Porno (SHUDDER), and the animated documentary Lotte that Silhouette Girl (2018 IDA Shortlist).
Lakeshore Records recently released Carla’s Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to Fangoria’s PORNO (2019). Patullo began composing music for this project at Skywalker Sound as a Composer Fellow in the Sundance Film Music Lab. The resulting horror comedy went on to premiere at SXSW, and then in 2020, it was released with Alamo Drafthouse, and Shudder. Of the soundtrack, The A. V. Club said “Porno has one of the year’s best horror soundtracks ... a smoky and eerily playful blend of haunting vocalizations, hissing specters, and shadowy instrumentation.”
In addition to composing, Carla is a prolific songwriter and has written over 100 songs with placements on Emmy and BAFTA award-winning shows, such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show (NBC), Skins (E4 & MTV), Sabrina the Teenage Witch (ABC), The Young and the Restless (CBS), and many more.
Carla’s upcoming and soon-to-be-released projects include scoring Trick Studio’s animated feature Shadowmaker about animation pioneer Lotte Reiniger, scoring the documentary THE LIFE OF DAN by Emmy Award winning director Jeremy Levine, and writing music for her new album So She Howls.
Raashi Kulkarni is a composer and pianist based in Los Angeles. She has established a distinct compositional voice that can be heard across a variety of genres including drama, comedy, adventure, animation, and action. Her Indian American background contributes to a diversified sound palette that elevates her scores. Raashi’s global perspective, study of different music disciplines, and passion for storytelling have been instrumental in the compositions she has developed for a vast spectrum of film and television projects. Kulkarni is one of eight composers and the first person of Indian origin to be selected for the Universal Composers Initiative, developed by NBCUniversal’s Global Talent Development & Inclusion group partnered with Universal Global Film Music (Hollywood Reporter). She is currently co-scoring Netflix’s upcoming feature, Wedding Season.
From 2017 through 2021, Raashi worked with Emmy Award-winning composer, Blake Neely. She composed additional music for over 150 episodes on series such as The CW’s Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow, and The Flash. In 2019, she composed and orchestrated the music for the DC Universe’s first Bollywood-inspired musical, featured on DC's Legends of Tomorrow (Entertainment Weekly/TV Guide).
In addition to film and television scoring, Raashi is a globally recognized musical artist. Her two independent music albums, which are a hybrid of Indian and Western music, debuted at #1 (2018) and #2 (2020) on the iTunes World Music Charts, respectively. She is a voting member of both the Television Academy and Recording Academy.
In the last decade, Raashi has performed in concert tours across the globe with several prominent artists from the United States and India, including world-renowned Bollywood composers, Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani. She has performed as a featured pianist at the Shrine Auditorium, Kennedy Center, Smithsonian Museum, Patriot Center, Warner Theatre, Kodak Hall, and more. Her YouTube piano covers, which are arranged solely by ear, have been discovered and recognized by iHeartRadio, On Air with Ryan Seacrest, Capitol Records (as part of Beck’s successful GRAMMY campaign), YouTube India, and Pharrell Williams’ partnership with The United Nations Foundation.
Raashi earned her Master of Music degree from University of Southern California, where she was a recipient of the Joe and Alice Harnell Scholar Award for Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television. Prior to USC, Raashi graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a minor in Music from The George Washington University, where she was a Presidential Arts Scholar and recipient of the Barry Manilow Endowed Prize in Music.
Called "a haunting artist to watch" by Rolling Stone, Alexandra Petkovski is an award-winning composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, artist, and songwriter from Toronto, Canada - creating genre-defying music exploring contemporary polytextural, orchestral cinematic, hybrid-synth, trailerization, and vocalise sonic spaces. Above all, Alex loves to tell compelling stories through music.
A 2023 Hollywood Music in Media Awards nominee (and 2022 HMMA Winner), first place award winner for the 2023 World Trailer Awards, multi-nominee for the 2023 Music + Sound Awards, 2023 Guild of Music Supervisors Canada Awards Artist/Songwriter of the Year nominee, awarded winner for SOCAN’s 2023 and 2022 Emerging Screen Composers Awards and 20th Annual Game Audio Network Guild Awards, Alex has collaborations with artists like Kimbra, Aimeé Osbourne, and Tommee Profitt, and her music is heard across platforms like Fortnite, Grey’s Anatomy, SXSW, Disney+, TIFF, Blumhouse Productions, Netflix, and HBO. Alex is the lead composer for Future Chicken; a new animated universe led by Catherine Winder (former executive producer of Lucasfilm animation; Ice Age, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Angry Birds).
Alex's artist project, FJØRA, has become widely known throughout the Film/TV/Video Game worlds. Her coined genre - "cinematronic" - combines elements of electronic and cinematic styles. This is heard throughout her work across Film, TV, video games, commercials, such as music for “Welcome to the Blumhouse” (a reimagination of 4-Non Blondes hit song, “What’s Up,” as personally requested by Linda Perry), Paris Olympics 2024 Campaign (Globo TV), theme song "Déjà Vu" for video game Deathloop (as heard in remixes by artists like Steve Aoki, Future and Madison Beer), custom music for international campaigns by Adidas Women and Donna Karan New York and score work for Grammy-winning composer Stephanie Economou (like on Gillian Jacobs’ Disney/Lucasfilm feature documentary, “More Than Robots” - premiering at SXSW, streaming on Disney+). Alex recently custom created the song “Together Forever” for the Paramount+ feature film Monster High 2.
On the Recording Academy’s Grammy ballot under “Best Arrangement: Instrument and Vocals”for her work on the Sondheim Series (a reimagination project honouring the life and legacy of Stephen Sondheim, which she was composer, producer, arranger, orchestrator, songwriter and artist), Alex is a huge advocate for women and underrepresented presence throughout the music industry, striving to foster awareness for inclusivity and diversity in each project she undertakes. Alex is the author of New Music USA’s “Managing Rapid-Fire Deadlines for the Aspiring and Evolving Music Creative,” a published article outlining helpful methods for working within the current music industry landscape.
Alex is proud to serve as a director on the Alliance for Women Film Composers board of directors, an Officer on the leadership board for the Screen Composers Guild of Canada, is a proud standing voting member of the Recording Academy, BAFTA Connect, Television Academy, Society of Lyricists and Composers, World Soundtrack Awards, and is a composer in residence alumni with the Canadian Film Centre (chaired by Lesley Barber) and Los Angeles Film Conducting Intensive alumni (working under the guidance of William Ross). A Grammy’s #NEXTGen 2023 leader (Los Angeles chapter), Alex was a mentee under Siddhartha Khosla (This is Us, Only Murders in the Building). As a director with the AWFC, Alex spearheaded the AWFC’s inaugural Film Music Mixer during TIFF event; a celebration of the vibrant community of women, women-identifying and underrepresented voices in the film industry coming together during the 2023 Toronto International Festival. Preparations for the 2024 AWFC TIFF Event are underway.
Three-time Emmy nominated composer, Miriam Cutler, is passionate about documentaries. Her work includes HBO, CNN, PBS, Sundance, SXSW, Berlin FF, Tribeca, Emmy, and Oscar nominated films: RBG, Love Gilda, Shari and Lambchop, Gabby Giffords - Won't Back Down, Beyond the Gaze, Til Kingdom Come, Dilemma of Desire, Flannery, Dark Money, The Hunting Ground, Ethel, Lost in La Mancha, Thin, Poster Girl, Vito, Kings Point, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, A Plastic Ocean, Licensed To Kill, and many more. Co-Produced and Scored Dark Money, One Lucky Elephant. Longtime Advisor/ Sundance Documentary Composers Lab, doc juror for Sundance FF, Spirit Awards, AFI, and more. Served on AMPAS Documentary Exec Committee, Film Expert/USC Cinema/US State Department’s American Film Showcase. Past TV Academy Music Branch Exec committee member, long-time former SCL Board Member and Co-Founder Alliance for Women Film Composers. Serving on board of Reel Change Film Fund - New Music USA. Co-produced live jazz albums including Joe Williams (nominated for a Grammy as Co-Producer), Nina Simone, Shirley Horn, Marlena Shaw. Miriam was a featured artist on the Grammy Award winning album, "Women Warriors: Voices of Change". Currently Co-Producing the documentary, "Loving Laura Nyro"
She has also presented workshops and Master Classes to filmmakers and composers internationally in Poland (Krakow Film Music Festival, annual), Canada (Vancouver Film Festival/Composer Filmmaker Accelerator), Czech Republic, Trinidad Tobago, Denmark, Republic of Georgia, Borneo, Faroe Islands, Bulgaria, Greece, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, USC, UCLA, Loyola Marymount, Chapman College, International Documentary Association, was composer in residence twice for Columbia College of the Arts Masters Scoring Program, and at Cal Arts for a semester. Also in it's third year, the annual Vancouver Film Festival Composer Filmmaker Accelerator Program.
For more information, please visit www.miriamcutler.com
Lolita Ritmanis is an Emmy® Award winning, 10 time Emmy Award nominated composer and a 2022 Grammy® Award winning music producer for “Women Warriors: The Voices of Change.” Most recently Lolita celebrated the release of the feature films "Escape Net” (directed by Dzintars Dreibergs) and “The American Miracle” (directed by Timothy Mahoney). In addition, she enjoyed the continued success of the award winning short "Tahlequah the Whale: A Dance of Grief” (directed by Daniel Kreizberg). All three projects featuring orchestral & choral scores by Lolita.
In 2021, Lolita was Oscar® shortlisted for best score for her 70 minute symphonic and choral score for the feature film “Blizzard of Souls,” which earned her numerous awards, including the Society of Composers and Lyricists Award for best score for an independent film, the Hollywood Music in Media Award for best score for an international feature film, the Alex North Award for best score, as well as the Golden Microphone Award for best instrumental album, and the Big Christopher (Latvia's equivalent to the Academy Award).
Lolita is one of the founders of the Alliance for Women Film Composers, serving as president 2016-2019, and a founding member of Dynamic Music Partners. Other career highlights include her original score for “Christmas in Rome” for Hallmark, documentary “Wild Daze” (featuring Jane Goodall), music for the gender parity series “Flip the Script” (starring Lake Bell), as well as continued work alongside her fellow Dynamic Music Partners, Michael McCuistion and Kristopher Carter on fan-favorite productions such as “Young Justice,” “Batman: The Killing Joke” (starring Mark Hamill), “Justice League” (the theme, composed by Lolita, received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination), “Batman Beyond” (Emmy Award Win), “Teen Titans,” “Ben 10,” “Batman: The Animated Series,” as well as the Primetime Emmy Award nominated musical “Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Mayhem of the Music Meister” (starring Neil Patrick Harris).
Lolita's concert works have been performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Koerner Hall in Toronto, Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, The Krakow International Film Music Festival, Fimucité International Film Music Festival in Tenerife, and Playfest in Ubeda, Spain. Early in her career, Lolita learned from the masters while working for such composing greats as Michael Kamen, Basil Poledouris, Mark Snow and Shirley Walker, among many others. Prior to focusing her career on composition, Lolita was an orchestrator on over 100 films, mini-series and television programs including Lethal Weapon 4, X-Files Movie, and Robin Hood-Prince of Thieves. She received her formal education at the Dick Grove School of Music, specializing in film scoring. Lolita is on faculty at USC's School for Cinematic Arts- Screen Scoring Program, as well as has presented master classes and seminars at Columbia College Chicago Music Composition for the Screen, MFA, Berklee School of Music, NYU, as well as Hong Kong Baptist University Screen Scoring Program. Lolita is member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, the Television Academy, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Society of Composers and Lyricists. In 2018 Lolita was honored with the BMI Champion Award, and in 2022 Lolita was honored with the BMI Impact Award.
