Copyright 2010-11 Lisa Bloom Cohen. All Rights Reserved.

 

Lisa Bloom Cohen creates music for film, television, ballet, musical theatre, and the concert hall. Born to a very musical family and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, Lisa began composing at eight years of age and studied piano throughout her childhood with the renowned Richard Gaw. At the University of California, Berkeley, she studied musical composition and economics, graduating with highest honors. Moving to Los Angeles, she continued her studies with famed motion picture/television composers Earle Hagen and David Raksin.

Lisa has composed a number of scores for film and television. Her TV credits include The New Lassie; Batman Animated; The Immortals; and several ABC specials. Much in demand as a film and television music orchestrator for many years, Lisa's credits include Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman; The Stupids; Memoirs of an Invisible Man; Special Effects (IMAX); and Rescuers. Her orchestrations have been performed by the London Symphony and the Prague Radio Symphony. Lisa has also written two musicals, a full-length original score for the renowned Malashock Dance Company, and a variety of orchestral and chamber music.

 

Motion Picture Scores Composed

Phoenix. Producer: Triad Pictures. Director: Troy Cook.

The Princess Bride (trailer). Producer: 20th Century Fox.

Up Above the World So High. Producer: independent. Director: Alba Francesca.

Summer Rain. Producer: independent. Director: Howard Slavitt.

Lucia. Producer: independent. Director: Lauren Ruttenberg.

 

Television Scores Composed

The New Lassie (multiple episodes). Producer: Universal/Al Burton Productions.

Batman Animated - "Fear of Victory" (co-composed). Producer: Warner Bros.

The Immortals (PBS series starring Ed Asner). Producer: PBS/3E productions.

Love with a Twist (ABC Primetime Special). Producer: ABC/Reeves Entertainment.

Jules Feiffer Animated Shorts (multiple episodes shown on HBO and Showtime). Producer: Ernest Chambers Productions.

Less than Perfect Daughter (ABC Afterschool Special). Producer: ABC/Hallinan Plus Productions.

TV Laughs at Life (ABC Special starring Brett Butler). Producer: ABC/Winsome Entertainment.

Vows (made-for-television film on the A&E Channel). Producer: A&E.

 

Film and Television Scores Orchestrated and Arranged

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (multiple episodes). Producer: CBS. Composer: William Olvis.

Batman Animated (multiple episodes). Producer: Warner Bros. Composer: Shirley Walker.

The Stupids. Producer: Grammercy. Director: John Landis. Composer: Chris Stone.

Memoirs of an Invisible Man. Producer: Warner Brothers/Chevy Chase. Director: John Carpenter. Composer: Shirley Walker.

Special Effects. Producer: IMAX. Composer: Chris Stone.

Rescuers (multiple episodes). Producer: Showtime. Director: Peter Bogdonovich. Composer: Hummie Mann.

Steal Big, Steal Little. Producer: Savoy Pictures. Director: Andrew Davis. Composer: William Olvis.

It’s Pat. Producer: Walt Disney. Composer: Mark Mothersbaugh.

Treasure Island. Producer: CBS. Composer: Chris Stone.

The Flash. Producer: CBS/Warner Bros. Composer: Shirley Walker.

TaleSpin (multiple episodes). Producer: Walt Disney. Composer: Chris Stone.

 

Library and Multimedia Music Composed

Scoring Tools Professional Sample Library. CD-ROM. Original compositions performed by the Prague Radio Symphony; used on a large number of film and television productions. Producer: EastWest.

The Random House Kid’s Encyclopedia. CD-ROM (co-composed). Producer: Knowledge Adventure.

Several CDs of music for use in scoring motion pictures, television, radio, and multimedia productions, distributed through Network Music and Nightingale Music Productions.

 

Dance and Musical Theatre Scores Composed

Misjudgement in Paris. Modern dance score. John Malashock commissioned the entire full-length musical score for this critically-acclaimed, groundbreaking work by the renowned Malashock Dance Company. Misjudgement in Paris had its world premiere run in San Diego, California at the prestigious Old Globe Theatre in January 2002. Some reviewer’s comments: "...composer Lisa Bloom Cohen provides an intriguing original score..." (Charlene Baldridge, Village News); "...the movements and Lisa Bloom Cohen's eclectic score heighten the stories and give a mythical, otherworldly aura to the everyday" (Jeff Smith, San Diego Reader). John Malashock said of Lisa's work on the project "Lisa Bloom Cohen wrote the entire evening's score for my original theatre/dance collaboration, Misjudgement in Paris, and was nothing less than a miracle worker. She worked at lightning speed, was totally open to suggestion, and just plain 'got it'. Her work is alternately lush, driving and atmospheric, and she has a lyric range that was absolutely inspiring to work with. Lisa is a truly gifted artist with a rare understanding of the collaborative spirit. I can't wait to work together again." A portion of this work was later transcribed and performed in concert by the Cypress String Quartet at the Ventura Music Festival, 2005.

Mutiny in the Library. Musical. Book and lyrics by David Tucker. Produced by the Hope Repertory Theatre, Holland, Michigan, 1999. The story of a small town library scheduled to be torn down and replaced with a shopping mall, with storybook characters coming to life to save the library.

Gold! Musical. Musical. Book and lyrics by David Tucker. Produced by the Lehman-Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. The story of a young girl and boy who find themselves in the California Gold Rush panning for gold, retelling the history of the Gold Rush as seen through the eyes of the children.

Concert Music Composed (partial list)

The Pallid Wreath. Baritone Andrew Garland commissioned this art song for voice and piano, based on the post-Civil War poem by Walt Whitman. The work received its world premiere at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 2007. It can be heard on the Music page.

Ancient Paths. The award-winning Debussy Trio commissioned this piece for harp, viola, and flute, premiering it in 1993. It can be heard on the Music page.

Sisyphus Fantasy. For orchestra.

Dark Geometry. For solo piano. This piece can be heard on the Music page.

Striations. For orchestra.

Analogia Musica. For string quartet.

Strange Attractors. For woodwind quintet.

Phase Transformation. For solo piano.

Orion. For saxophone quartet.

Serenade. For cello and piano.

Fathom. For orchestra.

Ascent. For solo piano.

Sonata. For solo piano.

 

CDs

The Pond (with Ann Moore). New age piece on the CD Nature Baby Water Baby, part of Rhino Records' Baby Tunes series.

 

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Copyright 2010-11 Lisa Bloom Cohen. All Rights Reserved.

 

Lisa has 25 years experience teaching Classical, Jazz, Blues, and New Age piano styles, as well as improvisation, composition, and musicianship. Beginners can learn to improvise in just 1-2 months using her unique method. Lisa is highly experienced teaching all ages and levels of student, from beginner to advanced.

Following are several of the recommendations Lisa has received:

"Lisa has been my 10-year old daughter's piano teacher for three years. Prior to that, we tried several other teachers and were not satisfied with the level of instruction they gave. Lisa has impressed us from the beginning. Not only is she a phenomenal classical and jazz pianist, as well as an accomplished composer, she is also the most experienced teacher we have seen. She is always patient and encouraging with her students. In three short years with Lisa, my daughter has learned to read music fluently, has had the opportunity to explore both classical and jazz piano music, and as of late, has worked on musicianship training. Since my daughter also plays the flute, Lisa always adapts her teaching to broaden my daughter's understanding of orchestral instruments as well. The breadth and depth of Lisa's musical knowledge makes her a very rare asset. We are so enthused over Lisa's teaching that we recently enrolled our son in piano lessons as well. Personally, Lisa has inspired me to pick up the piano where I left off twenty years ago." --Kristen Hoddess, parent and student

"Lisa is an amazing piano teacher. Her passion for the piano and for music is truly contagious. After every lesson, I feel newly inspired to dig into any new material and master it. Because of Lisa, I've grown as a musician and have a much deeper relationship with music and the piano. I'd strongly recommend her for anyone (child or adult) who wants piano lessons." --Diane Wagner, adult student

"It is a true privilege for me to have the opportunity to write this letter of recommendation for Lisa Cohen. Lisa has been teaching both our daughters piano and composition since we have known her (for the last two years). Our daughters, ages 19 and 8, have made incredible progress in their abilities and have developed a true love and appreciation for music under Lisa's gentle and intuitive teaching. Her ability to inspire a rambunctious 8 year old to actually practice without us almost ever having to push her is a testament to Lisa's talents and her awe-inspiring patience. Our older daughter has taken her musical skills to the next level with Lisa's artistic talents and they have forged a wonderful relationship that goes far beyond simple piano teaching. In short, Lisa will be sorely missed by all of us in our family not only as a teacher with the utmost dedication and talent but as someone we have come to regard as one of our dearest friends." --Julie Handelman, parent

"Lisa Cohen is a tremendous piano teacher. Both my 8 and 11 year olds very much enjoyed taking lessons with her. Lisa kept their enthusiasm up with a nice mix of assignments. In addition, when my older daughter had an interest in composition, Lisa was able to encourage that pursuit. Lisa is a wonderful composer herself and instills her love of music and the piano. She is a warm, nurturing presence and my kids looked forward to their lessons. I recommend her highly." --Gene Stein

"Lisa started teaching me in 2004 and starting over as an adult is not easy. She had me sounding like I had been playing for years. She is incredibly patient and has fantastic ideas to tailor make your style of playing. My son is now 8 yrs. old and has been playing for 6 months and he loves it! He is sounding fantastic and looks forward to her coming. We both take and we just love her teaching style, she has a way of making you understand the piano, is always excited every time she walks thru the door. Lisa is a wonderful human being and talented and has great ideas to help you become inspired about learning piano and feeling great when you sit down to. Thank You." --Janet & Luca Norton

"It is a privilege to recommend Mrs. Lisa Cohen as a piano teacher. Mrs. Cohen is a wonderful piano teacher and a lovely person, and we are very unhappy that she is leaving our community. She has taught our daughter piano and music theory for eight years and voice for one year and our son piano for three years. Both of our children look forward all week to their piano lesson as the highlight of their week. Although their interests and personalities are very different, Mrs. Cohen has made music and piano exciting to both of them, helping them explore their individual interests and expand their musical horizons. Mrs. Cohen is also a composer and she has even written music for our son when he was unhappy with the traditional instruction book. In addition to technique and theory, she has introduced them to musical improvisation which enables them to take any simple tune and make it sound like a full, complex musical composition and encourages them to explore and be creative. Our children are going to miss her very much, both as a piano teacher and as a friend and mentor. We are all sorry to lose her and we are sure your community will treasure her as a teacher and as a friend." --Rochelle and Ron Kaminker

"We have been so fortunate to have Lisa teach our children for the past 3 years. She is highly skilled at meeting each child at her/his level and ability, while inspiring (not pressuring) them to build on their skills and develop mastery. My children truly look forward to their piano lessons, and their time with Lisa has given them a love of music and piano. Lisa's passion for music, for teaching and for children makes her the ideal piano instructor." --Audrey Prins, parent

"Lisa Cohen is an excellent piano teacher. My children have been taking lessons with her for the past six years. She started with a classical repertoire and really taught them to be technically accurate. In addition, as they improved she began to teach them Jazz and Blues improvisation. She is very sensitive to the musical tastes of her students and is able to keep them interested and excited about playing the piano by making sure that they always work on pieces that they feel excited about and enjoy. She also works with them on music composition and theory. As a composer herself, I think this really adds a dimension to the lesson that they enjoy. Overall, she is an excellent teacher. She has a lot of patience and is able to work with children both as beginners and as they become more advanced piano players." --Allison Kronenberg, parent

"Lisa Bloom Cohen was my piano teacher growing up, and I credit her with instilling in me a love of playing piano, and of both jazz and classical music - especially the French Romantics! Lisa and I lost touch after I went off to college, but I never lost my love for music in general and piano in particular. About a year ago, I was looking into finding a piano teacher for my 7 year old son, who would patiently and lovingly teach him to play while also reinforcing his love of music, as Lisa had done for me. Call it fate, but I had the good fortune to run into Lisa, and needless to say, I asked her to take on my son as her student! It is no surprise to me that Lisa is doing a wonderful job of instilling in my son the same love and appreciation for playing piano that she did for me when I was learning to play. Thanks Lisa!" --Karen Agam, student and parent

 

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Copyright 2010-11 Lisa Bloom Cohen. All Rights Reserved.