Leo Birenberg | |
|---|---|
 Birenberg at the 2025 WonderCon | |
| Background information | |
| Genres | Film and television scores, jazz, experimental, rock, electronica, synth-pop, new-age |
| Occupations | Composer, orchestrator |
| Instruments | Piano, keyboards, synthesizer, guitar |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Website | https://leobirenberg.com |
Leo Birenberg is an American composer and orchestrator for film and television.
Born in Kentucky and raised in Chicago, Birenberg studied composition at NYU and USC. [1] While there, he started composing his first scores in collaboration with his roommate, filmmaker Jeremy Reitz. [2] His favorite score is from Out of Africa . [3]
After graduating, he had a chance encounter with composer Christophe Beck, who ended up taking Birenberg on as a mentee. [4] Under Beck's tutelage, Birenberg worked as the score coordinator on numerous large projects, including The Muppets, Pitch Perfect , Runner Runner , and Frozen. In 2014, Birenberg started composing additional music for Beck's films, including Muppets Most Wanted , Edge of Tomorrow , and Ant-Man. [5]
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 , [6] and the YouTube Red series Sing It! [7]
In 2016, Birenberg received an email from producer Eric Appel, and asked to compose music for the then-upcoming FX series Son of Zorn . [8] 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. [9] 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 . [10]
In 2018, Birenberg co-composed YouTube and Sony series Cobra Kai with composer Zach Robinson. [11] They also scored the subsequent seasons through to season six. In addition, he scored the music for the DreamWorks Animation Television series Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny , Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous and Jurassic World: Chaos Theory . [12]
In 2019, Leo composed the music for Hulu's Pen15. [13] He also recently scored Adult Swim's animated series Tigtone , Tribeca Film Festival selection Plus One , the Peacock series Twisted Metal , the Marvel Studios Animation series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man , and the 2026 comedy film The Breadwinner . [3]
Birenberg's score with Zach Robinson for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story won the 2023 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score). [14] The duo also gained the following nominations:
Their music for Cobra Kai has had the following nominations:
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | The Breadwinner | Composer with Zach Robinson [19] |
| 2024 | How to Rob a Bank | Composer |
| 2024 | Die Hart: Die Harter | Composer with Zach Robinson |
| 2023 | Bottoms | Composer with Charli XCX |
| 2022 | Weird: The Al Yankovic Story | Composer with Zach Robinson |
| Butcher's Crossing | Composer | |
| Mack & Rita | ||
| Anything's Possible | ||
| Unplugging | ||
| 2020 | Impractical Jokers: The Movie | Composer with Zach Robinson |
| Secret Society of Second Born Royals | Composer | |
| 2019 | Red Penguins | |
| Plus One | ||
| 2017 | F the Prom | Composer with Zach Robinson |
| 2015 | The Peanuts Movie | Composer (additional music) |
| Ant-Man | ||
| Hot Tub Time Machine 2 | Composer (additional music), Orchestrator | |
| 2014 | Good Kill | Composer (additional music) |
| Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day | Score Producer | |
| Red Army | Composer | |
| Edge of Tomorrow | Composer (additional music) | |
| Muppets Most Wanted | ||
| Endless Love | Composer (additional music), Score Producer | |
| 2013 | Frozen | Score Coordinator |
| Runner Runner | ||
| R.I.P.D. | ||
| The Internship | ||
| The Hangover Part III | ||
| Movie 43 | Composer (segment: "Happy Birthday") | |
| Charlie Countryman | Score Coordinator | |
| 2012 | Struck By Lightning | |
| The Guilt Trip | ||
| Pitch Perfect | Music Assistant | |
| The Watch | Score Coordinator | |
| This Means War | ||
| 2011 | The Muppets | |
| Tower Heist | ||
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | The Sisters Grimm | Composer (6 episodes) |
| Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man | Composer with Zach Robinson (10 episodes) | |
| 2024–2025 | Jurassic World: Chaos Theory | Composer; Original Jurassic Park themes by John Williams (10 episodes) |
| 2023–present | Twisted Metal | Composer with Zach Robinson (10 episodes) |
| 2023 | Obliterated | Composer with Zach Robinson (8 episodes) |
| Florida Man | Composer with Zach Robinson (7 episodes) | |
| 2022 | Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin | Composer with Zach Robinson (6 episodes) |
| 2022–2023 | Interrupting Chicken | Composer (11 episodes) |
| 2022 | The Boys Presents: Diabolical | Composer (TV mini series, 1 episode) |
| 2020–2023 | Die Hart | Composer with Leo Birenberg (18 episodes) |
| 2020–2022 | Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous | Composer; Original Jurassic Park and Jurassic World themes by John Williams and Michael Giacchino (50 episodes) |
| 2020–2021 | Central Park | Composer (12 episodes) |
| 2020 | Helter Skelter: An American Myth | Composer (TV mini series, 6 episodes) |
| 2019–2021 | PEN15 | Composer (24 episodes) |
| 2019–2020 | Tigtone | Composer (20 episodes) |
| 2018–2019 | Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny | Composer (26 episodes) |
| 2018–2025 | Cobra Kai | Composer with Zach Robinson (65 episodes) |
| 2018 | In Search of Greatness | Composer |
| 2016–2018 | Adam Ruins Everything | Composer (7 episodes) |
| 2016 | Take My Wife | Composer (7 episodes) |
| Son of Zorn | Composer (13 episodes) | |
| A Classy Broad | Composer | |
| Sing It! | Composer with Zach Robinson (10 episodes) | |
| 2015 | Big Time in Hollywood, FL | Composer (12 episodes) |
| 2014 | The Britishes | Composer |
| Next Time on Lonny | Composer (10 episodes) | |
| 30 for 30: Soccer Stories | Composer (1 episode) | |
| 2012 | The Kindly Midwesterner | Composer (TV mini series, 8 episodes) |
| 2011–2013 | Dropout | Composer (18 episodes) |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Every Part of You | Composer |
| One Night With Love | ||
| 2020 | Pretty People | |
| 2016 | Remember This Voice | |
| 2015 | Scatterwild | |
| 2014 | Grooming | |
| 2013 | After I've Gone | |
| Three Little Words | ||
| The Desert Son | ||
| 2012 | Goat Sucker | |
| 2011 | Dani and Wayne | |
| Shock Troop | ||
| Baby Ruth | ||
| 2010 | The Harbinger | |
| The Half Man | ||
| 2009 | Caring Hearts & Caring Hands | |
| Kouzelnik |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Cobra Kai 2: Dojos Rising | Composer with Zach Robinson |
| 2020 | Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
