"Without music, life would be a mistake." - nietzsche

Biography

Originally from Buffalo, NY, Koi Anunta began classical studies in piano at age 4 and violin at age 8. After it was discovered she was gifted with perfect pitch, she had the dual honor of being rigorously trained by noted Ukrainian concert pianist Claudia Hoca and American concert violinist Tom Halpin. At 15, Koi simultaneously received the highest score of any high school student in the entire state of New York that year in both the NY All-State Piano and NY All-State Symphony Orchestra auditions. At 16, she became one of the youngest students to matriculate at Yale University, where she formed her first rock band as lead singer, was Assistant Concertmistress of the Yale Bach Society Chamber Orchestra, and toured coast to coast as Musical Director of her Yale a cappella group while still managing to complete her pre-medical studies, graduate with a B.A. in English, and get accepted to medical school at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences all by the age of 20. While earning her M.D., Koi continued to front and play in a rock band and sang the national anthem at her graduation in front of an audience of over 1000 people, after which she decided to eschew medicine and move to Hollywood at 24 to continue pursuing her lifelong passion for music.

Koi has since contributed violin, keyboards, or vocals to countless label, indie, television, and film recordings in a wide variety of genres that range from hiphop, rock, and country all the way to Middle Eastern traditional music. Recent features include backup vocals and strings on the new 2019 Glass Tiger album (Track 3: “The Keepers of Time”), the BET television documentary "Deathrow Records" alongside Snoop Dogg on the series soundtrack (series premiere February 20, 2018), and acting as a rock violinist in the 2017 film "The Guitar" starring Michael Boston, which won "Best Ensemble Cast" at the 2018 Global Film Awards Festival. Koi’s particular strengths are live improvisation, and knowing how to fit a melodic line into an existing work as if it should always have been there with raw, genuine emotion. As a result, Koi is frequently sought out to accompany many major and independent artists, including Grammy winner Macy Gray, Adam Lambert, and Grammy-nominated Gallant on the CBS Late Late Show with James Corden, and has toured the U.S. and Europe several times over as part of numerous bands. Recently, she performed with world-renowned artist William Close / The Earth Harp Collective in Miami (2022), headlined a sold-out theater in Barcelona, Spain with Canadian pop artist Andrew Cole in 2018, and completed an acoustic European tour with French R&B artist Jules Galli in 2017.

Koi also frequently composes instrumental scores and writes her own vocal music: in 2018, an original song Koi wrote, performed, and sang, "Mad Girl's Love Song," was featured in the British independent film "The Goodbye Girl," which received 30 laurels and won "Best Feature Film" and “Best Director” at the Out of the Can film festival in the U.K. (release date March 25, 2018). Through the creation of her self-owned company, Silver Screen Strings, Koi has also been able to contract elite string ensembles of any size, from duos, trios, and quartets up to full string sections, for both recording and live performance events. Please visit www.silverscreenstrings.com for more information on booking.

Koi is also the founding and sole permanent member of her own original project, the trip-hop / industrial rock band In Love & WAR, which is heavily influenced by Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Garbage, Portishead, Tori Amos, and Massive Attack. The debut In Love & WAR EP, Tessitura, was released June 21, 2019 and has been featured in six magazines to date, including extensive interviews (click titles to read) in the Yale Alumni Magazine, Rock Cellar Magazine, and Voyage LA Magazine. The first-ever live In Love & WAR performance took place on-air for radio station Wish 107.5 FM and was live-streamed to their 1 million YouTube subscribers. The art film music video, “Gun To My Head” for track 2 on the EP has since amassed 14,000 views on YouTube and 350,000 views on Facebook. Watch the video here. For more updates on new music, performances, and other events, please visit the official website: www.inloveandwarband.com

Having been fortunate enough to enjoy the benefit of private music lessons from an early age, as well as nearly continuous exposure to the arts throughout her schooling, Koi has always been an extremely strong supporter of arts education for children. She is delighted and honored to be part of Dream A World Education, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)3 organization which teaches inner-city 5-year-olds through a series of musical workshops and performances that support academic development, social-emotional learning, and an understanding of cultural diversity. She has also taught group music lessons for fourth through sixth grades during the academic year at the prestigious Brentwood School, Valley Beth Shalom, and Brawerman East/West. In the summer of 2019, she successfully led an intensive violin-focused orchestra camp for Star Education (LAUSD after-school program), teaching eight complete beginner students (ages 7-9) how to perform 5 songs (Ode To Joy, Hedwig’s Theme from Harry Potter, Frere Jacques, Pachelbel’s Canon in D, and Lean On Me) in just 3 weeks on violin, piano, and xylophone. Koi has also led group violin, piano, and vocal lessons for kindergarteners through seventh graders for Star during the school year at Braddock Drive Elementary in West LA and Benjamin Franklin Elementary in Glendale, in addition to a full private lesson schedule for violin, piano, and vocal students.

When she isn't playing, writing, or recording, Koi enjoys her two rescued horses, two ex-street dogs, some occasional acting, laughing often and much, and a decent whiskey on the rocks.

As of August 2022, Koi is accepting selected violin and piano students by audition only. For further information on live performances, recording, or lessons, please visit the "Booking" tab or silverscreenstrings.com.