Karen Golden began telling stories at the dinner table at the age of three and playing the saxophone at the age of eight.

Karen seamlessly weaves Jewish, multicultural, personal and family stories and has developed and presented over thirty commissioned works on the history of cities, organizations and people.

Karen’s performance style is both playful and seriousas she weaves in and out of animating different characters and sound effects, often mixing in several different musical performances, including the saxophone, recorder, accordion, ocarina, and even a singing bowl. She can keep the attention of 2-year-olds, grade school kids, teenagers, moms and dads, and senior citizens. Audience members always leave feeling completely entertained and inspired to make the world a better place.

Karen’s teaching work has touched the lives of thousandsthrough her teaching artist residencies in schools, LAPD Pals Youth Centers for youth at risk and juvenile halls. She was the director of a storytelling summer camp at the Beverly Hills Library for three summers and the founder of the Peace Tellers Youth Storytelling Troop.

Karen is currently a teaching artist with the Los Angeles County Arts Commission (LAartsed.org) and the founding director of Creative Learning Place (creativelearningplace.com), an academic and arts center for home-schooled children. She is also an international touring artist with the Buenos Aires based company DreamOn Productions and she has brought her storytelling to 1000's of students in international schools in China, S. Korea, Hong Kong, and Peru. In 2020 she will be telling stories in Argentina and Columbia. 

Karen is also a recording artist,and in 2005 her CD, “Tales and Scales” received the prestigious National Parenting Publications Gold Honor Award. In 2006, Karen’s CD, “Pass It On: A Journey Through the Jewish Holidays in Story and Song” won the Storytelling World Honor Award for Recording Excellence and in 2007 this CD won The National Parenting Publications Honor Award. Karen's stories can be read in many anthology collections.

Karen is the recipient of numerous grantswhich have allowed her to bring her craft to schools, social service agencies and to youth-at-risk. In 2014, Karen was the recipient of a National Storytelling Association Members Grant for her project “My Story, My Voice.” Through this grant Karen has been able to expand her teaching artist work at the Emerson Academy to work one-on-one with non-verbal autistic teens and help them bring their stories to life.

Audiences from coast to coast have applauded Karen’s work as a performer, published author, teacher and award winning recording artist.  Funny, inspiring, outrageous and real!