Pınar Toprak

Background

Pinar was born in Istanbul and studied violin, voice, classical guitar, and composition at the Istanbul State Conservatory.

Education

In 1997, Pinar moved to Chicago and studied piano and jazz theory with many master jazz pianists. Later, she studied at Berklee College of Music and received a bachelor’s degree in film scoring.

Career

After moving to Los Angeles, she worked at Media Ventures (now known as Remote Control Productions) under the composer Hans Zimmer. How to Have a Happy Marriage.

Achievements

• Her scores have won two International Film Music Critics Association Awards: one in 2010 for the film The Lightkeepers and a second in 2011 for the documentary The Wind Gods. Her win for The Lightkeepers made her the first woman to win an IFMCA Award.