Penka Kouneva Explained

Penka Kouneva
Native Name:Пенка Кунева
Birth Date:25 February 1967
Birth Place:Sofia, Bulgaria
Occupation:Composer, Orchestrator, Soundtrack Producer
Website:http://www.penkakouneva.com/

Penka Kouneva (Bulgarian: Пенка Кунева) (/ˈpɛŋkɑː kuːˈnɛvɑː/; born February 25, 1967, in Sofia, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian-American composer, orchestrator and soundtrack producer. In 1999, she began working in film and television and in 2009 began to score for videogames ( and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video games, with themes by Steve Jablonsky). Her music is a blend of Bulgarian influences, classical training, rock sensibility, and modern film and game soundtracks.

Kouneva has released two award-winning concept albums: The Woman Astronaut (2015, on Varèse Sarabande / Universal Music Group)[1] and A Warrior's Odyssey (2012, on Howlin’ Wolf Records / Sumthing Else)[2] both receiving 5-star press.

Adolescence and early career (1990–1999)

Kouneva was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria, and began studying piano at the age of six. Her mother was a professor of music theory at the Bulgarian Academy of Music and her father was a scientist at the Institute of Chemical Technologies. At the age of twelve, Kouneva composed and performed incidental music for a children’s theater show that ran for a season. She earned fifteen dollars per show; the official start of her career as a paid composer. Kouneva attended the Sofia High School of Music and achieved a degree in piano. She later enrolled in the National Academy of Music and graduated with a degree in music theory.[3]

In 1990, she was awarded the Mary Duke Biddle Graduate Fellowship to study composition at Duke University, North Carolina, USA.[4] At Duke she studied composition and orchestration with the American orchestral composers Stephen Jaffe and Scott Lindroth and with the Dutch post-minimalist Louis Andriessen.[5] In 1997, Kouneva received Duke University's first-ever Ph.D. degree in composition in the brand-new doctoral program.[6] In 1997, she also received a Green Card as an “Alien of Extraordinary Abilities.”

Hollywood career (1999 – present)

In 1999, Kouneva arrived in Los Angeles. Her first mentor was the Emmy-winning composer Patrick Williams whom she met at Duke.[7] She began her career by scoring independent features and thesis films for graduates at the American Film Institute.[8] In 2004, she began to score TV specials and genre telefilms for the SyFy Channel (Ice Spiders, Nuclear Hurricane). In 2004, Kouneva met Steve Jablonsky (composer for the Transformers films) and became his orchestrator. She scored video games in 2009 with Ubisoft’s and Activision’s Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen games. For the Transformers game, Kouneva wrote original high-action loops incorporating the musical style that Jablonsky established in the Transformers films – epic orchestra, rousing action melodies and heavy percussion. For the Prince of Persia game, Kouneva composed two hours of original in-game interactive score, fusing inspirations of Persian, Indian and Middle-Eastern music with epic orchestra.[9]

Her credits also include independent features (Primrose Lane, The Third Nail (starring Chloë Grace Moretz), Midnight Movie (starring Brea Grant) as well as in television (Forensic Files, Modern Marvels)). Since 2012, Kouneva has been scoring many independent games (PS4 Medieval game Rollers of the Realm,[10] VR action project Hades, the military shooter H-Hour on Steam[11] and iOS titles IronKill, Black Hole Explorer, Pierre Roux’s Infinite Warrior.)

In addition to composing, Kouneva is a studio orchestrator and has made Hollywood history as the first woman Lead Orchestrator on studio blockbusters since Shirley Walker.[12] (Walker was instrumental for Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman and others.) Kouneva was Lead Orchestrator on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Elysium, Ender's Game (films) and Sony's 2015 Game of the Year Bloodborne. Other orchestration credits include the franchises The Matrix, Transformers, ; the games Gears of War 2 & Gears of War 3, World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Diablo III, Overwatch, Sims, Lord of The Rings: War in the North,[13] and many low-budget independent films, such as Alfons Conde's scores for Elio Quiroga's films Home delivery, The Dark Hour (2006 film) or No-Do, and games.

Industry leadership

Kouneva is on the Advisory Board of Game Developers Conference, the world’s foremost conference for game professionals (2014–present),[14] an Advisor for Sundance Composers Lab (2002–2015) and a Mentor for Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) Scholars (2014–current). As a guest artist, she has presented invited lectures and seminars at Duke University, Davidson College, USC, Berklee College of Music, Berklee Valencia, CalArts, The Musicians’ Institute, CSULB and many others. She has also presented at the following conferences: Game Developers Conference (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016),[15] East Coast Game Conference (2012),[16] Power Of Play (2015, 2016),[17] Intel Buzz Workshop London (2016),[18] The Society of Composers and Lyricists (2013),[19] Game Sound Con (2013, 2014, 2015),[20] amongst many other.

Kouneva is profiled in two textbooks (Chance Thomas' “Composing Music For Games” (2016) and Tom Hoover's “Soundtrack Nation” (2011), in a Keynote address (Game Sound Con 2015 Keynote address),[21] in national press[22] and NPR.[23] Additionally, she has been included in two feature-length documentaries: Beep: A Documentary History of Game Sound (2016)[24] and SCORE: A Film Music Documentary (2016).

Mentoring and advocacy

Kouneva is known for building and training high-performance teams for score production.[25] Amongst her notable protégés are the Hollywood composers and orchestrators Philip Klein,[26] Ben Bromfield, Alexandre Cote,[27] Catherine Grealish, Dallas Aimer,[28] Nicolas Repetto,[29] Steven Melin,[30] Amie Doherty, Fred Emory Smith[31] and many others. Kouneva's arrival to Hollywood was unprepared for the business aspects of entertainment, so she focuses to instructing her protégés to be ready for such challenges.[32] Kouneva’s Composer Career Master Classes are published online by Designing Music Now.[33] Her Gears of War 2 main theme analysis is published by Output.com.[34]

Kouneva is also an advocate for artist growth and for the advancement of women composers.[35] She has led, curated and participated in panels, seminars, and concerts promoting women film and game composers in Los Angeles,[36] at Game Developers Conference, and the Society of Composers and Lyricists.

Philanthropy

In 2015, Kouneva established and funded an Orchestral Reading for Duke Graduate Composers with the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra. Two graduate composers selected by Duke Music Department will receive a professional reading and recording of their compositions by the nationally recognized symphony orchestra. With this opportunity, she hopes to give a competitive edge to composers as they start their careers.[37]

Personal life

In 2004 Kouneva married music editor Daniel Schweiger and has one daughter with him, born in 2006.

Discography

The lists below show some of Kouneva's most notable work.

Composer

Albums

YearTitleLabel
2015The Woman AstronautVarèse SarabandeUniversal Music Group
2012A Warrior’s OdysseyHowlin’ Wolf Records – Sumthing Else
2011Play For JapaniTunes
2010Ubisoft
2010Midnight MovieHowlin’ Wolf Records

Film scores

YearTitleDirectorStarring
2016Primrose LaneKathleen DavisonK. Davison, Alysia Reiner
2008Midnight MovieJack MessittBrea Grant
2007The Third NailKevin LewisChloë Grace Moretz
2004The Picture of Dorian GrayDave RosenbaumJosh Duhamel

Video games – Composer and Co-composer (selected)

YearTitleStudioMain Composer
2015H-Hour: World’s EliteSteamPenka Kouneva
2010UbisoftSteve Jablonsky
2009Transformers: Revenge of the FallenActivisionSteve Jablonsky

Television – Composer (selected)

YearTitleDistributorNetwork
2007Ice SpidersSony Pictures Home EntertainmentSyFy Channel
2005Regent EntertainmentSyFy Channel
2005Sony Pictures Home EntertainmentSyFy Channel

Television – Team Composer and Production Music (selected)

YearTitleNetwork
2009–presentLockup: Extended StayMSNBC
2005–presentForensic FilesTruTV
2005–presentModern MarvelsHistory Channel
2005–presentDogfightsHistory Channel

Orchestrator

Lead Orchestrator – Film (selected)

YearFilmStudioFor Composer
2016Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the ShadowsParamountSteve Jablonsky
2015The Last Witch HunterLionsgateSteve Jablonsky
2014ElysiumSony PicturesRyan Amon
2014Ender's GameLionsgateSteve Jablonsky
2014Need for SpeedDreamWorksNathan Furst
2013Hansel and Gretel: Witch HuntersParamountAtli Orvarsson
2007Hostel: Part 2LionsgateNathan Barr
2006Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2New Line CinemaSteve Jablonsky
2005HostelLionsgateNathan Barr

Team Orchestrator – Film (selected)

YearFilmStudioFor Composer
2011ParamountSteve Jablonsky
2010A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)New Line CinemaSteve Jablonsky
2009ParamountSteve Jablonsky
2009Angels and DemonsSony PicturesHans Zimmer
2007TransformersParamountSteve Jablonsky
2007Walt Disney PicturesHans Zimmer
2003The Matrix ReloadedWarner BrothersDon Davis

Orchestrator – Video games

YearTitleStudioFor Composer
2015BloodborneSony Computer Entertainment
2011Gears of War 3MicrosoftSteve Jablonsky
2008Gears of War 2MicrosoftSteve Jablonsky
2008The Sims 3EASteve Jablonsky
2007World of WarcraftStarCraft II

Diablo III

Overwatch

Blizzard EntertainmentNeal Acree
2006ActivisionSteve Jablonsky
2002Enter the MatrixEON / AtariDon Davis / Erik Lundborg

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Varèse Sarabande . The Woman Astronaut | Varèse Sarabande . Varesesarabande.com . 2016-06-23 . 2016-08-10.
  2. Web site: Howlin' Wolf Records – A Warrior's Odyssey page . Howlinwolfrecords.com . 2016-08-10.
  3. Web site: California String Quartet. www.californiastringquartet.com. 2016-06-07.
  4. Web site: Duke composers meet the North Carolina Symphony Duke Music. music.duke.edu. 24 March 2016 . 2016-06-07.
  5. Book: Andriessen, Louis. The Music of Louis Andriessen. Routledge Publishing. 2002. 0-8153-3789-2. Great Britain. 310.
  6. Web site: Alum's Gift To Fund Student Recording Sessions. Duke Today. 9 September 2015 . 2016-06-07.
  7. Web site: Penka Kouneva: Game And Hollywood Composer. 2012-10-15. GAAM: Games Art And Music. en-US. 2016-06-15.
  8. News: The Catalyst. 21 March 2001.
  9. Web site: Game Music :: Prince of Persia The Forgotten Sands Original Soundtrack :: Review by Chris. www.squareenixmusic.com. 2016-06-15.
  10. Web site: Review Fix Exclusive: Tony Walsh Talks 'Rollers of the Realm'. 2014-08-20. Review Fix. en-US. 2016-05-06.
  11. Web site: SOF Studios. SOFs Community. 2016-05-06.
  12. Web site: It's Been Nearly Two Decades Since a Woman Was Lead Orchestrator on a Tentpole Film — Film School Rejects. Allison. 2013-09-05. Medium. 2016-05-06.
  13. Web site: Hans-Zimmer.com – Penka Kouneva. www.hans-zimmer.com. 2016-06-15.
  14. Web site: GDC 2016 | March 14–18, 2016 | Moscone Convention Center | San Francisco, California . Gdconf.com . 2016-08-10.
  15. Web site: The Gothic Horror Music of 'Bloodborne' . GDC Vault . 2016-08-10.
  16. Web site: Dealessandri . Marie . East Coast Game Conference 2012 Announces Full Lineup of Speakers and Technical Programs | games industry | MCV . Mcvuk.com . 2016-06-28 . 2016-08-10.
  17. Web site: 2017 Speakers.
  18. Web site: INTEL Buzz Workshop | London 2016 . intelbuzz.bemyapp.com . 17 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160420135136/http://intelbuzz.bemyapp.com/2016/london/ . 20 April 2016 . dead.
  19. Web site: Calendar :: Recent Events : SCL Seminar: Women Composers in Film, TV, Musical Theater and Video Games . The SCL . 2016-08-10.
  20. Web site: Game Music and Sound Design Conference.
  21. Web site: Paula Parisi . Women in Video Game Music Celebrated at GameSoundCon But Still Underrepresented . Billboard . 2015-11-05 . 2016-08-10.
  22. Web site: Voices: Video games making strides in technology and diversity . Usatoday.com . 2015-06-21 . 2016-08-10.
  23. Web site: Penka Kouneva and a composer's 'authentic voice' . Classical MPR . 2015-04-30 . 2016-08-10.
  24. Web site: A Documentary History of Game Sound . Beep . 2010-02-04 . 2016-08-10.
  25. Web site: Events . Penka Kouneva Studios presents…Master Classes: February 16, 2013 | Calendar . BMI.com . 2013-02-16 . 2016-08-10.
  26. Web site: Biography « Philip Klein . Philipkleinmusic.com . 2016-08-10.
  27. Web site: My Role on The Woman Astronaut Alexandre Cote . alexandre-cote.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160211033504/http://alexandre-cote.com/my-role-on-the-woman-astronaut . 2016-02-11.
  28. Web site: Composer/Orchestrator . Dallas Aimer . 2016-08-10.
  29. Web site: About Nicolas . Nicolas Repetto . 2016-08-10.
  30. Web site: Home . stevenmelin.com.
  31. Web site: Bio — Fred Emory Smith . Fredemorysmith.com . 2016-08-10.
  32. Web site: Spring 2015 Visiting Artists | The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts . Music.calarts.edu . 2016-08-10.
  33. Web site: Bio – Penka Kouneva . Designing Music NOW . 2016-08-10.
  34. Web site: Behind The Music - Gears of War 2 OUTPUT . output.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150919061115/http://output.com/gears-of-war-main-theme-analysis/ . 2015-09-19.
  35. Web site: Soundworks Collection.
  36. Web site: First WEDNESDAYS: "Celebrate Women Composers" . www.asmac.org . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160915175126/http://www.asmac.org/first-wednesdays-celebrate-women-composers/ . 2016-09-15.
  37. Web site: Alum's Gift to Fund Student Recording Sessions. 9 September 2015 .