Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Karen began to write and perform music by the age of 11. After studying French horn for four years under Melanie Cottle of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, her love of music and composition took her study Film Scoring at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. In June 2000 she came to Los Angeles to work as a music editor for composers such as John Debney, Danny Elfman, George S. Clinton, and John Williams. In 2004 she went back to school to get her credential in K-12 education and currently teaches English, history, and film at Millikan Performing Arts Middle School in Sherman Oaks, California, winning many film festivals with her students. Last year after receiving her second pink slip from the Los Angeles Unified School District due to budget cuts, Karen wrote and directed a short documentary about the effects of the teacher layoffs entitled “Pink Slip.”
