BMI Foundation Names 2025 Pete Carpenter Fellows
Renowned Composers Kevin Kiner, Ronit Kirchman, Trevor Gureckis, and Gil Talmi to Provide Mentorship
LOS ANGELES, CA and NEW YORK, NY - October 14, 2025 - BMI Foundation, Inc. awarded media composers Yaron Eigenstein and Sarah Senior the 2025 Pete Carpenter Fellowships in Los Angeles and New York, respectively. Eigenstein will receive mentorship from Kevin Kiner (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Peacemaker) and Ronit Kirchman (The Sinner, Fractal), while Senior will receive mentorship from New York-based composers Trevor Gureckis (The Goldfinch, Old) and Gil Talmi (Harry & Megan, Lead Me Home). Los Angeles-based composer Rick McGuire was also named the Honorable Mention for the award.
The Pete Carpenter Fellowship, founded by iconic composer Mike Post in 1989, is an annual residency for aspiring film, television, and video game composers. Previously providing only one annual award, the fellowship expanded in 2022 to include mentorship for up to five weeks and a monetary award of $3,000 for one composer in New York City and one composer in Los Angeles. Previous fellows have included EMMY-winning composers Chris Beck (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Frozen), Roger Neill (Chicago Hope, King of the Hill, Mozart in the Jungle), Christopher Tyng (Futurama, The O.C., Suits), Atli Örvarsson (The Perfect Guy, Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD); and John Kaefer (The Wilds, Only, A Score to Settle), who currently serves as the program’s director.
Yaron Eigenstein is a composer and orchestrator based in Los Angeles, whose work has been featured on films including The Naked Gun, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, and Bad Boys: Ride or Die. Driven by curiosity and a search for new colors and textures, his music helps bring stories to life by fusing the orchestra’s richness and versatility with contemporary production and sonic experimentation. As a founding member and former Music Director of international social-musical movement Koolulam, Eigenstein toured the world and helped bring hundreds of thousands of people together through collaborative creation and performance that celebrated music as a tool for connection. Yaron is a graduate of the prestigious Screen Scoring Master’s Program at the University of Southern California, where he was awarded the Harry Warren Scholarship.
On being awarded the Fellowship, Eigenstein stated, “I’m really happy and deeply honored to be receiving the Fellowship. I’m looking forward to working with Kevin Kiner and Ronit Kirchman, and to all the amazing opportunities that this year will bring.”
Sarah Senior is a pianist and composer from Caracas, Venezuela. She did her undergraduate studies at Barnard College, Columbia University with the Manhattan School of Music cross-registration program where she first studied Classical Piano with the late Phillip Kawin and then with Dr. Inesa Sinkekych. She graduated Magna Cum Laude and was the recipient of the Ethel Stone LeFrak Prize with a major in Music and Film Studies in 2023. Senior then pursued her Masters degree in Composition at Manhattan School of Music with a presidential award in the studio of Dr. Reiko Füting, winning the Camerata Nova Commission Prize in 2024 and graduating in 2025. Her compositions are mostly focused on collaborations with filmmakers and musicians and in exploring and deconstructing Latin American musical practices. She is passionate about film and songwriting, having worked on a number of short films and released an EP.
Upon receiving the award, Senior shared, “I can’t wait to work and learn so much from Trevor Gureckis and Gil Talmi. Thank you so much.”
Rick McGuire is a Los Angeles–based composer and drummer, and a 2023 Production Music Association Mark Award nominee. His credits include work for Netflix, WildBrain Studios, and Chick-fil-A Play. His ambient project At Dusk has been featured on Apple Music editorial playlists and in Apple Fitness+ workouts. Rick’s music is also heard across major platforms including Telemundo, History Channel, and Discovery Channel.
About the BMI Foundation
The BMI Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1985 to encourage the creation, performance, and study of American music. The Foundation’s programs include competitive scholarships for songwriters and composers, operating grants for nonprofit arts presenters, and support for innovative music education initiatives in schools and communities across the country. For more information about the work of the Foundation, please visit our website at www.bmifoundation.org. For exclusive news and content, follow @bmifoundation on Instagram and like BMI Foundation on Facebook.
