Eli Baumgarten is a composer, music director, and pianist whose work blends dramatic storytelling with a harmonically rich musical language shaped by jazz and classical traditions. His writing is driven by character, emotional specificity, and a deep sensitivity to narrative — creating music that is at once intimate, theatrical, and expressive.

 

Originally from Denver, Colorado, Eli studied jazz piano performance at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he worked with Brad Goode, Victor Mestas, Jeff Jenkins, and Andrew Cooperstock. He later expanded his compositional voice at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, an experience that broadened his approach to form, orchestration, and dramatic pacing. These formative years culminated in Into Nowhere, a debut EP featuring jazz trio with strings, which premiered to a sold-out audience at Dazzle Denver.

 

As a music director, Eli has led theatrical productions in Los Angeles — most recently serving as music director and sole accompanist for an Eartha Kitt cabaret starring Broadway actress Thomasina Gross, where he arranged the material, conducted the band, and shaped the show's musical arc in close collaboration with the director. He has also music directed large-scale live events, coaching performers individually across a wide range of styles and repertoire.

Eli has been accepted as a composer to the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop (Class of 2026), one of the most competitive musical theatre programs in the country. He is currently developing his first musical and relocating to New York City, where he will continue to write for the stage while collaborating with performers, directors, and writers committed to emotionally honest, story-driven theatre.