Nicholas Vasallo
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Nicholas Roy Vasallo (born October 28, 1979) is an American composer. In 1997, Vasallo graduated from Monte Vista High School in
Danville, California The Town of DanvillePronounced is located in the San Ramon Valley in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is one of the List of municipalities in California, incorporated municipalities in California that use "town" in their nam ...
, where he began his musical career as a guitarist and vocalist in a hardcore band called Y.F.H., later
Antagony Antagony is an American deathcore/metalcore band from the Bay Area of California, United States, formed in 1998, disbanded in 2009, and reformed in 2019. The group are noted for combining their metalcore style with a remarkable amount of death ...
. He has been credited as being the father of
extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...
genre
deathcore Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore Breakdown (music)#Heavy metal and punk rock, breakdowns. While there are some precursors ...
.''No Clean Singing'' – ANTAGONY – Why you need to know this band…
/ref> Vasallo has since evolved from a metal musician into an award-winning composer and professor of music. He is best known for his compositions combining heavy metal sounds and aesthetics with experimental classical techniques. He has released four albums containing his compositions with different independent labels. His music is published by Santa Barbara Music Publishers and released by Neuma Records and Innova Recordings. Vasallo is of Filipino and Taiwanese descent.


Biography

Vasallo graduated from
Diablo Valley College Diablo Valley College (DVC) is a public community college with campuses in Pleasant Hill and San Ramon in Contra Costa County, California. DVC is one of three public community colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District (along with ...
with an AA in
music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...
studies in 2003, and
California State University, East Bay California State University, East Bay (Cal State East Bay, CSU East Bay, or CSUEB) is a public university in Hayward, California. The university is part of the California State University system and offers 136 undergraduate and 60 post-baccala ...
with a BA in
music composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...
in 2007. As a Chancellor's Fellow at
University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of C ...
, Vasallo completed his MA in 2009 and subsequently went on to finish his DMA in 2011 as a President's
Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
. 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 was an assistant professor at
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona California State Polytechnic University Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) is a Public university, public Institute of Technology (United States)#Polytechnic universities, polytechnic research university in Pomona, California, United States. It is the l ...
; lecturer at California State University, East Bay, Gavilan College, University of California, Santa Cruz, and Los Medanos College. Vasallo is the director of music industry studies at Diablo Valley College. Vasallo is also a passionate martial artist, he practices Jiu Jitsu and teaches Muay Thai Kickboxing at Danville Jiu Jitsu, Wrestling, and Kickboxing. He is also the creator and head instructor of the Muay Thai program at Global Martial Arts University. ;Career As a composer, Vasallo's work has encompassed a variety of genres and projects. Most notably with his
extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...
band Oblivion,
deathcore Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore Breakdown (music)#Heavy metal and punk rock, breakdowns. While there are some precursors ...
band
Antagony Antagony is an American deathcore/metalcore band from the Bay Area of California, United States, formed in 1998, disbanded in 2009, and reformed in 2019. The group are noted for combining their metalcore style with a remarkable amount of death ...
,
film music A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
career, and concert music works.
Polystylism Polystylism is the use of multiple styles or techniques in literature, art, film, or, especially, music. Some prominent contemporary polystylist composers include Peter Maxwell Davies, Alfred Schnittke, and John Zorn. Polystylist composers fro ...
or
Eclecticism Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories i ...
has been linked to his compositions which range from electronic, electroacoustic,
orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...
,
chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...
, solo,
choral A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
, and various instrumentations utilizing the
overdriven Distortion and overdrive are forms of audio signal processing used to alter the sound of amplified electric musical instruments, usually by increasing their gain, producing a "fuzzy", "growling", or "gritty" tone. Distortion is most commonly ...
sound of electric guitar. His compositional approach involves mixing disparate elements from
Extreme Metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...
to
Taiko are a broad range of Traditional Japanese musical instruments, Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese language, Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various J ...
,
Experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...
,
Spectral Music Spectral music uses the acoustic properties of sound – or sound spectra – as a basis for composition. Definition Defined in technical language, spectral music is an acoustic musical practice where compositional decisions are often inform ...
, Electronic Music, Algorithmic Music, and various 21st-century compositional techniques. Vasallo is a recipient of the 2010/2011 President's $21k Dissertation-Year
Fellowship A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...
, 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. Vasallo models his musical structures on extra-musical phenomenon, including pre-constructed narrative events either created on his own or appropriated. He describes musical ideas and instruments as "complex and surprising characters that exist in reality or imagination."''YouTube'' – REDSHIFT – When the War Began (2013). Composed by Nick Vasallo
/ref> Vasallo's ongoing goal is to hybridize extreme metal with modern classical music. He often designs sound worlds using acoustic instruments with electronic/digital manipulations.''nickvasallo.com'' – ABOUT , NICK VASALLO
/ref> As a performer, Vasallo is active as a bassist and extreme metal vocalist. He is currently the lead vocalist and songwriter for the extreme metal band Oblivion.


Awards

* 2020 UCSC Distinguished Graduate Alumni Award * 2017 Cal State East Bay “40 Under 40” Award * 2015 The American Prize in Composition for When the War Began * 2015 Washington Composers Forum "Inverted Space" Winner for When the War Began * 2015 36th Annual Telly Award for "Make Dreams Happen – Cal Poly Pomona's Steinway Initiative" * 2014 Cal Poly Pomona Provost's Award for Excellence in Teaching Nomination * 2013 San Francisco Classical Voice Music Educator Award First Runner-up * 2012 Henryk Mikołaj Górecki International Composers Competition * 2011
Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified ...
Contemporary Music Festival Music Now Composition Award * 2011
Truman State University Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a Public university, public Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Kirksville, Missouri, United States. It had 3,664 enrolled students in the fall of 2024 pursuing degrees in 55 undergraduate ...
/ MACRO Composition Award * 2011 All the Cool Parts Idol Winner * 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 Benjamin F. Porter College, known colloquially as Porter College, is a residential college at the University of California, Santa Cruz. It is located on the lower west side of the university, south of Kresge College and north of Rachel Carson Coll ...
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 Chancellors
Doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
Fellowship * 2007 CSUEB Student Choral Competition Winner


Discography

;Studio albums


References


External links

*
"Nick Vasallo"
at the Society of Composers website {{DEFAULTSORT:Vasallo, Nicholas 1979 births Living people 21st-century American classical composers American male classical composers American musicians of Taiwanese descent American musicians of Filipino descent University of California, Santa Cruz alumni California State University, East Bay alumni Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area Classical musicians from California 21st-century American male musicians Monte Vista High School (Danville, California) alumni