Zach Robinson & Leo Birenberg: Cobra Kai

Join us for a night of “Shredding and Schenkerian Analysis,” with Leo Birenberg, Zach Robinson and Vincent Oppido as we discuss thematic evolution of the hit show Cobra Kai over its six seasons, and deep-dive some of the beefiest cues of the final epic season. Leo and Zach will also be getting out their guitars for some live demos!

Cobra Kai is the story of a multi-generational struggle for karate supremacy in “The Valley,” reigniting the 30-year-old rivalry between Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence. Continuing the story of The Karate Kid franchise, six seasons have seen tournaments won and lost, allegiances shift, old friends and enemies return, and global karate powers rise and fall.

Supporting it the whole way is the music for Cobra Kai, one of the most in-your-face, symphonic, and rocking scores on television. It combines 80s glory, world music, contemporary metal, and massive orchestral and choral forces into an epic tapestry of themes to tell the story on the biggest musical scale imaginable.

Everyone is welcome to attend this event. ASA members get a discount! Ticket price includes dinner after the discussion! Please bring your laptop or ipad to view the score as we study it.

ASA members, please sign in to your account to view your discount code below.

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Emmy-winning composers Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson are two of the most exciting names in film music today. They are most recently acclaimed for their work on Roku’s Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, starring Daniel Radcliffe, which earned the duo an Emmy for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special, as well as Grammy nomination for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.

Leo and Zach are most well-known for scoring Netflix’s global-hit series Cobra Kai, starring the return of Ralph Macchio, WIlliam Zabka and Martin Kove, where their gargantuan score takes center stage to tell the epic struggle of karate supremacy in the San Fernando Valley.

With an emphasis on originality and fun, the longtime collaborators have brought their talents to a diverse slate of exciting movies and shows. The in-demand duo are attached to a number of unique series from Twisted Metal, starring Anthony Mackie and based on the classic popular video game, to the high-octane action-comedy Obliterated, from Cobra Kai creators Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg.

Leo and Zach were most recently tapped by Marvel Studios to score the upcoming animated television series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman. 

Past projects include Florida Man, Bumper in Berlin, based on the Pitch Perfect film franchise, The Boys: Diabolical, and Die Hart, starring Kevin Hart and John Travolta.

The two have a knack for showmanship, and have performed several concerts of their Cobra Kai score at historic venues in Los Angeles. They have twice been invited to the MOSMA Film Music Festival in Málaga, Spain to perform alongside composers Marc Shaiman, John Debney, Daniel Pemberton, Harold Faltermeyer, and Roque Baños. Guitar World, Variety, Keraang!, and a number of other publications, have all done extensive features about their work. They have also been recently recognized for their achievements with nominations from the International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA), Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMAs) and the ASCAP Composer’s Choice Award.

Leo and Zach are also talented song producers. In 2020, they collaborated with superstar Carrie Underwood on a cover of the 1980s classic ‘The Moment of Truth.’ They produced an EP for the songwriting duo Samsel/ Anderson for their new hit Broadway show Between the Lines. Leo and Zach produced all of the music for the series Sing It!, working with the vocal talents of Diana DeGarmo, Ace Young, and Diamond White. They have written original songs for a number of their projects, including the J-Pop bop ‘Kimokawaii’ for The Boys: Diabolical. Most recently, they collaborated with legendary songwriter and singer Paul Anka on a new version of his classic, ‘My Way.’

In addition to working together, Leo and Zach each pursue their own projects. Leo has scored the Emmy-nominated series Pen15, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, and the films Bottoms, Anything’s Possible, Mack & Rita, and Plus One. Zach has scored the Netflix documentary series Wrestlers and America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, the animated horror series Fright Krewe and is currently scoring the CBS reboot of Matlock starring Kathy Bates. In addition, Zach’s 1980s inspired electronic music project D/A/D, is considered one of the most accomplished in the synth wave genre and has received accolades from Pitchfork and NPR.

They were introduced in the studio of Emmy-winning composer Christophe Beck, where they worked as writers, arrangers, and producers and contributed additional music to a number of major films, including Frozen, Edge of Tomorrow, Ant-Man, and The Peanuts Movie. 

Both Leo and Zach currently reside in Los Angeles, CA.

 

A rising talent in Hollywood, Vincent Oppido’s music has been performed and recorded in Europe and Japan, and across the United States from Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood scoring stages of Warner Brothers and Sony Pictures Studios. Having worked as a Composer, Arranger, Orchestrator, Music Copyist, and Conductor has provided Oppido with a unique, all-encompassed skillset in today’s media industry. With a keen interest in the development of musical ideas and orchestration, he prides himself as the sole author of all music he has created.

Oppido’s recent scoring credits include Magic the Gathering: Wizards of the Coast, Fortnite, the indie films Alien Code (Archstone/Sony Home Pictures – starring Kyle Gallner and Richard Schiff), Watch the Sky (Breaking Glass Pictures – starring Renee O’Connor), and the CollegeHumor series Troopers: Rise of the Budget. He has also composed additional music for projects including Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars: Squadrons, Jedi Temple Challenge, Star Wars: Hunters, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween and TruTV’s Adam Ruins Everything: Reanimated History. Other writing credits include original music for Sinclair Oil’s 2017 commercial advertisements and musical source arrangements for projects such as It Happened In LA (Sundance Selected) and the Paramount Pictures film What Men Want. He also provided musical arrangements for the 2021 Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Show and the 2021 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Also an orchestrator and conductor, Oppido has worked on projects such as the Emmy-winning score to Roku’s Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Pixar’s Elio, The Karate Kid: Legends, Netflix’s Obliterated, Fortnite, Cobra Kai, Max’s Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, The Suicide Squad, League of Legends, Age of Empires, Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2, and NBC’s Timeless. His first job in Hollywood, as a music proofreader, enabled him to work on dozens of motion pictures and television shows including Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Frozen, Family Guy and The 2013 Oscars.

In addition to work in film and television, Oppido has received numerous commissions for the concert hall, garnering performances in such prestigious venues including The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Symphony Hall in Boston and Carnegie Hall. His most recent work, The Cosmic Perspective, was commissioned and premiered by The United States Air Force Band of the West. Vincent collaborated on this work with Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson who composed an original text. Also recent, his work for narrator and orchestra titled Yes, Virginia! There is a Santa Claus was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, at Abbey Road Studios, with the narration performed by Emmy & Golden Globe Award winning actor Alec Baldwin. Oppido also composed Patriot Pride, George Mason University’s alma mater and arranged an overture for Brian Stokes Mitchell’s concert show. His concerto for Alto Saxophone Solo and Wind Ensemble, Three Happenings While Walking Down Main Street, was premiered by the United States Air Force Band in 2024. Oppido’s most recent commission Alice Takes A Trip (a fantasy on the Lewis Carroll classic), will premiere with the United States Air Force Band of Mid America in 2025.

Originally from Long Island, New York, Vincent studied conducting and composition at George Mason University with Anthony Maiello and Mark Camphouse and was invited to attend the Scoring for Motion Picture and Television program at the University of Southern California. He was selected as a 2012 participant in the ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop with Richard Bellis and also spent a summer studying at the Aspen Music Festival. Oppido is a member of ASCAP.