Karen Tanaka

Karen Tanaka is a composer whose work spans concert music, film scores, and electronic media. Her works have been performed by leading orchestras and ensembles worldwide, including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Brodsky Quartet, Ensemble Berlin PianoPercussion, Gothic Voices, Vox Clamantis, and Anúna. Her music has also been featured by renowned choreographers and dance companies, such as Wayne McGregor and Nederlands Dans Theater. She has received numerous commissions, notably from the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Juilliard School, Gaudeamus Foundation, Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, Radio France, the Michael Vyner Trust, the Canada Council, the Arts Council of England, the BBC, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Alongside her concert work, she has composed scores for a wide range of short films, animations, and documentaries. In 2012, she was selected as a fellow of the Sundance Institute’s Composers Lab for feature film, where she was mentored by leading Hollywood composers. She later served as an orchestrator for the BBC TV series Planet Earth II (2016). She scored the animated film Sister, which was nominated for the 92nd Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film. Her music is published by Schott Music, New York and Wise Music Classical, London. Karen Tanaka is Professor Emeritus at California Institute of the Arts and lives in Los Angeles.