Miriam Cutler

Miriam Cutler is an American composer best known for her documentary film work.

Cutler is a Los Angeles-based film composer, scoring and performing music for over 20 years. She began her musical career as songwriter and clarinet player with The New Miss Alice Stone Ladies Society Orchestra; she then joined the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo as a clarinetist, and later founded the group Swingstreet. Due to her love of jazz, she has co-produced albums by the likes of Joe Williams, Nina Simone, Marlena Shaw, and Shirley Horn.[ 1] Cutler has served on a number of film festival juries including the first-ever World Cinema Documentary category at Sundance, The Film Independent Spirit Awards, The International Documentary Association Awards, and the AFI Film Festival Awards. She is a long-term board member of the Society of Composers & Lyricists and has served as an advisor in the Sundance Institute's Composers Lab since 2003.[ 2] She currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Motion Picture Academy Documentary Branch and the Executive Committee of the TV Academy Music Branch.[ 3]

Cutler has also been the long-time composer for Circus Flora, based in St. Louis, MO.[ 4]

On June 26, 2013, Cutler was voted into the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[ 5]

In 2014, Cutler co-founded the Alliance for Women Film Composers with Lolita Ritmanis and Laura Karpman.[ 6] The organization provides visibility and advocacy for women composers.[ 7]

In 2017, Cutler was inducted into the John Muir High School (Pasadena, CA) distinguished alumni Hall of Fame.[ 8]