Starr Parodi
“Surely no one could coax more passionate feelings and rainbow colors out of the instrument.” writes Oxford University Press author and former Keyboard Magazine editor Mark Vail of iconic pianist & composer, Starr Parodi. He goes on to say “Parodi’s pianistic sense and delivery go way beyond creative. Words that come to mind while listening include imaginative, courageous, dynamic, passionate, gutsy, pensive, restrained, and euphoric. I’m thoroughly entranced by the whole experience.”
Grammy® award-winning artist, composer & producer, Starr Parodi first entered the public eye playing keyboards as part of the house band on the hit late-night Arsenio Hall Show. Since then she has become a vibrant part of the Los Angeles composing community, scoring hundreds of episodes of TV & film as well as being a passionate and innovative solo artist, pianist and producer whose work has been featured on NPR, THE BBC, KCRW and iHEART Radio.
Her scoring credits include The Storied Life Of A.J. Fikry, Michael B. Jordan’s gen:LOCK, Transformers: Rescue Bots, G.I. Joe Renegades, The Starter Wife, Conversations With Other Women, The Division, and hundreds of Hollywood's most iconic and visible film trailers/promo (Rogue One, Last Samurai, James Bond, Mission: Impossible II, The Peanuts Movie, Harry Potter, Dreamgirls, Night at the Museum, X-Men 3, etc.). Her darkly innovative production/arrangement of the JAMES BOND Theme (RIAA Gold Record) was credited by Forbes magazine as "reinventing the modern action movie trailer.”
Also a celebrated concert composer, Starr is the first woman to have her orchestral works performed in the 90-year history of the Festival of Arts - Pageant of the Masters in Laguna, CA, where she is currently a featured composer.
Starr has released three critically acclaimed solo albums and collaborated on the writing and production of numerous recordings. Her album COMMON PLACES won “Record of the Year” from Solo Piano Radio and was lauded by KCRW’s host and tastemaker Chris Douridas “This deeply passionate and beautiful recording is one of the best albums of the year.” Her neoclassical release, THE HEART OF FRIDA, which celebrates the life, art and courageous spirit of beloved artist Frida Kahlo, won awards for Solo Piano Album of the Year from both International Radio Broadcasters, and solopiano.com.
In 2017, for ”The Women in the World Summit” hosted by Scarlett Johansson, the New York Times invited Starr to Lincoln Center to conduct “To All The Little Girls,” a music video and performance she produced and arranged with Oscar winning filmmaker Terry Sanders, which celebrates the potential of young women. In 2019 Starr was again featured at Lincoln Center with a world premiere of her concert work “The Joy of the Waters” as part of the acclaimed “Women Warriors:Voices of Change” performance.
As a producer and featured artist, Starr won the 2023 Grammy® award in the Classical Compendium category for her work on Kitt Wakeley’s ”An Adoption Story”. She was honored with both the 2021 SHE ROCKS - VISION Award, the 2022 BMI IMPACT Award, and is a featured composer and artist on the iconic recording “Women Warriors: The Voices of Change” which won the Grammy® in 2022 and for which she received a 2021 Hollywood Music in Media Award (HMMA) for Best Contemporary Classical, for her composition “The Joy Of The Waters”.
A trailblazer onstage and in the studio, Starr served as President of the Alliance for Women Film Composers (March 2019- March 2021), currently sits on the AWFC board, and is widely recognized as a leader in expanding the reach of women in the arts as a composer, producer, performer and cultural visionary.
"If you listen closely you can hear the ghosts in her music." - R.J. Lannan