Nick Vasallo
Life
Born: 28 October 1979 in Oakland, California
Biography
Nicholas Vasallo is an American composer.
He graduated from California State University, East Bay with a B.A. in Music, and holds a M.A. degree from University of California, Santa Cruz in Music Composition. Vasallo is currently a President's Fellow and Doctoral candidate at University of California, Santa Cruz. His teachers included David Evan Jones, Paul Nauert, David Cope, Hi-Kyung Kim, Frank La Rocca, Jeffrey Miller, Rafael Hernandez, Ken Ueno, and Francois Rose. He taught at the University of California, Santa Cruz and Los Medanos College. He teaches at California State University, East Bay and Gavilan College.
As a composer, Vasallo's work has encompassed a variety of genres and projects. Most notably with his post-metal group Antagony, film music career, and concert music works. Polystylism or Eclecticism has been linked to his compositions which range from orchestral, wind band, trombone ensemble, solo piano, choral, and instrumentations utilizing the overdriven sound of electric guitar. His compositional approach involves mixing disparate elements from Extreme Metal to Taiko, Spectral Music, and various 20th-century compositional techniques. Vasallo is a recipient of the 2010/2011 President's $21k Dissertation-Year Fellowship, the first Arts student to ever receive the honor.
His music has been performed internationally by groups such as Contemporary Music Ensemble Korea, Del Sol String Quartet, San Francisco Choral Artists, Atlanta Schola Cantorum, and Watsonville Taiko. Currently, Vasallo is working with San Francsico Conservatory of Music's BluePrint ensemble as well as collaborating with top-selling deathcore group - All Shall Perish.
As a performer, Vasallo is active as an electric guitarist and extreme metal vocalist.
Awards
- 2011 Truman State University/MACRO Composition Award
- 2010/2011 President's Dissertation-Year Fellowship Winner
- 2009/2010 UCSC Music Department Discretionary Funds Award
- 2009 San Francisco Choral Artists New Voices Award
- 2009 Porter College Graduate Arts Research Grant Award
- 2008 David Cope Award for Compositional Excellence
- 2008 Seattle Pianist Collective Award
- 2008 UCSC Student Orchestral Competition Winner
- 2008 60x60 Project (Pacific Rim mix) Official Selection
- 2007/2008/2009 UCSC Chancellor Chancellors Doctoral Fellowship
- 2007 CSUEB Student Choral Competition Winner
List of choral and vocal works
- For works at CPDL sorted alphabetically by title, see Nick Vasallo compositions
- Sunset…sunrise…blue skies (2008) 4 min. for SATB
- Judicabo te (2008) 4 min. for SATB
- Without A Dream (2007) 4 min. for baritone, piano
- De civitatibus (2007) for SATB choir
- Dolor Laetus (2007) for SATB choir
- In Tribulatione (2007) for Soprano and Alto
- Lamentation (2006) for soprano, alto, guitar, cello, and percussion
- Lumen et Tenebras (2006) for SSAATTBB choir
- Sigillum Sextum (2005) for SSAATTBB, piano, cello, bass, timpani, drumset
- The Vertigo Series I. Monolith (2005) for soprano, tenor, trombone, 2 electric guitars, electric bass, synth organ, 2 percussionists
- The Vertigo Series II. Necromantic Dances (2006) for SATB, synth piano, electric guitar, electric cello, 2 trombones, amplified clarinet, timpani, percussion
- The Vertigo Series III. Confrontations (2007) for soprano, trumpet, bass trombones, Percussion Quartet, electric guitar, synth
- Vivi In Infernum (2005) for SSAATTBB choir
Click here to search for this composer on CPDL
Discography
- Studio albums
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2007 | The Burning
|
| 2009 | Days of Night
|
External links
- Official website
- Gavilan College faculty spotlight
- "Music student gets $21,000 fellowship" by Bonnie Horgos - Santa Cruz Sentinel (May 2010)
- "Classical Mayhem" by Jo Ann L.B. Duggins - Anti-Mag (March 2008)