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Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Nick Vasallo began performing music in high school where he picked up the electric guitar and eventually formed Antagony, an influential extreme metal band in the underground. At the age of 23, Vasallo decided to begin formal music training at Cal State East Bay where he studied composition and obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in 2007. As a Chancellor's Fellow at University of California Santa Cruz, Vasallo completed his Masters in 2009 and subsequently went on to finish his Doctorate in 2011 as a President's Fellow.

His music reveals an eclectic array of influences (metal, algorithmic, taiko, and spectral music) and his compositions have been internationally performed by world renowned groups such as Contemporary Music Ensemble Korea, Del Sol String Quartet, Music Now, San Francisco Choral Artists, Bridge Chamber Virtuosi, Atlanta Schola Cantorum, Borromeo String Quartet, and Watsonville Taiko.

In 2010, Vasallo was the recipient of the President's Dissertation-Year Fellowship Award - the first arts student to ever receive that honor. Other honors and awards include: International Music Prize for Excellence in Composition 2011, 2011 MACRO Composition award, 2009 San Francisco Choral Artists New Voices Award, The Seattle Pianist Collective 2008 selection, 2008 UCSC Student Orchestral Composition winner, 60x60 project - Pacific Rim Mix 2008-2009 selection, The 2008 David Cope Award for Music Composition Excellence, 2005 New Jersey International Film Festival Selection "Sinful" musical score, and 2007 CSUEB Student Composers Competition winner.

An Artistic Director for Composers, Inc., Vasallo teaches college-level courses in music theory, orchestration, music history, music literature, songwriting and electronic music in addition to his work as a composer and performing artist. He currently composes, does lead vocals and plays bass for the modern extreme metal band Oblivion.

[ Chamber ] [ Orchestral ] [ Choral ] [ Solo ] [ Metal ]
Click on "Premiere" to see the video

CHAMBER ENSEMBLE:

Elements of Metal II. Omnes Perituri (2011) 5 min.
for string quartet
Premiere: April 5, 2011. University of California, Santa Cruz
(excerpt)

Ikusa (The Battle) (2010) 5 min.
for shime-daiko, and 2 chu-daiko
Premiere: March 5, 2011. Gavilan College, Gilroy

Elements of Metal I. Collapsing Obsidian Sun (2009) 7 min.
for haegum, violin, cello
Premiere: April 22, 2010. University of California, Santa Cruz
Pacific Rim Festival 2010 official selection
(excerpt)

Explosions in the Sky (2009) 7 min.
for horn, piano, violin, viola, cello
Premiere: April 19, 2009. University of California, Santa Cruz
April in Santa Cruz 2009 official selection
Indiana State University CMF Music Now Winner
(excerpt)

Thalassophobia II. Sea of Anger (2009) 5 min.
for trombone octet
Premiere: April 26, 2009. University of California, Santa Cruz
Commissioned by Rob Klevan

Thalassophobia I. Emergence of the Kraken (2007) 5 min.
for trombone octet
Premiere: June 5, 2007. CSU East Bay, Hayward
Commissioned by CSUEB Trombone Ensemble

Never Odd or Even (2007) 6 min.
for celesta, piano, 2 cellos, bass
Premiere: June 2, 2007. CSU, Hayward

Lamentation (2006) 4 min.
for soprano, alto, guitar, cello, percussion
Premiere: June 2, 2006. CSU, Hayward

ORCHESTRAL / LARGE ENSEMBLE:

Oblivion (2012) 8 min.
for choir, 2 electric guitars, electric bass, and drumset
Premiere: December 29, 2011. The World Wide Web

Omnes Perituri (2011) 5 min.
for bass trombones, percussion, piano, electric guitars, bass, violins
Premiere: June 3, 2011. California State University, East Bay

Antares Rising (2010) 8 min.
for wind ensemble w/ taiko group
Premiere: May 15, 2010. University of California, Santa Cruz
2011 Truman State University/MACRO Composition Award
(excerpt)

The Vertigo Series V. The Aftermath (2009) 6 min.
for 2 trumpets, bass trombone, 3 percussion, piano
Premiere: April 26, 2009. University of California, Santa Cruz
(excerpt)

The Vertigo Series IV. The Battle Within (2008) 6 min.
for bass trombone, 3 percussion, piano, cello, bass
Premiere: June 9, 2008. University of California, Santa Cruz
2008 David Cope Award for Music Composition Excellence
(excerpt)

Expand the Hive (2008) 5 min.
for orchestra
Premiere: November, 21, 2008. University of California, Santa Cruz
2008 UCSC Student Orchestral Competition winner

Coalescence (2008) 6 min.
for chamber orchestra
Premiere: April 23, 2008. University of California, Santa Cruz
April in Santa Cruz 2008 official selection

The Vertigo Series III. Confrontations (2007) 4 min.
for soprano, trumpet, trombones, percussion, electric guitar, synth
Premiere: May 29, 2007. CSU, Hayward
Commissioned by CSUEB Percussion Ensemble

The Vertigo Series II. Necromantic Dances (2006) 3 min.
for SATB, synth, electric guitar, cello, trombones, clarinet, percussion
Premiere: May 16, 2006. CSU, Hayward

The Vertigo Series I. Monolith (2005) 3 min.
for SA, trombones, electric guitars, bass guitar, synth, percussion
Premiere: March 7, 2006. CSU, Hayward

CHORAL / VOCAL:

Sunset (2008) 4 min.
for SATB
Premiere: April 26, 2009. University of California, Santa Cruz
Commissioned by Ariose Chamber Singers

Judicabo te (2008) 4 min.
for SATB

De civitatibus (2007) 4 min.
for SATB
Premiere: June 13, 2009. St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, San Francisco
2009 San Francisco Choral Artists New Voices Competition winner

Without A Dream (2007) 4 min.
for baritone, piano
Premiere: June 2, 2007. CSU East Bay, Hayward

Lumen et Tenebras (2007) 5 min.
for SATB
Premiere: March 18, 2007. Mission San Jose, Fremont, CA
2007 CSUEB Choral Competition winner

SOLO:

Five (2011) 5 min.
for disklavier
I. Overtones
II. I Vent In On

Shades of December (2009) 4 min.
for piano
Comissioned by Cameron Mozee-Baum

The Fifth World (2009) 10 min.
for disklavier
Premiere: June 8, 2009. University of California, Santa Cruz

The Crown Canon Variations (2009) 7 min.
for disklavier
Premiere: June 8, 2009. University of California, Santa Cruz

Explosions in the Sky (2009) 7 min.
for disklavier

Evanescent Revolutions (2008) 4 min.
for disklavier
Premiere: April 18, 2008. Mills College, Oakland, CA
60x60 Project - 2008 Pacific Rim selection
I. Implosion
II. Bhaskara
III. Happiness is Only Real When Shared

Transient Reflections (2007) 6 min.
for piano
Premiere: June 1, 2008. Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
2008 Seattle Pianists Collective Composition winner
I. Intertwine...unwind
II. The Abyss
III. Stained Glass Window

The Network (2007) 3 min.
for organ
Premiere:

Inconsolable (2006) 5 min.
for piano
Premiere: December 5, 2006. CSU East Bay, Hayward

Falling into You (2004) 5 min.
for piano
Premiere: March 7, 2006. CSU East Bay, Hayward

METAL / EXPERIMENTAL ROCK:

Oblivion - Annunaki (2012) 3 min.
for drumset, bass, electric guitars, vocals

Fractals Book 2 - The Fabric of Reality (2011) 11 min.
for drumset, piano, bass, electric guitars, vocals
2.1 Multiverse

2.2 Negative Mass

Fractals Book 1 - Remnants of an Early Solar System (2010) 12 min.
for drumset, piano, synth, 2 electric guitars, vocals
Performed by Fractals
Premiere: May 14, 2010. University of California, Santa Cruz
1.1 Oceanic Impact

1.2 Dark Matter

1.3 A Beautiful World

1.4 The Event Horizon

Days of Night (2008) 4 min.
for drumset, synth, 2 electric guitars, bass guitar, vocals
Performed by Antagony
Premiere: April 26, 2009. University of California, Santa Cruz

Terror (2008) 3 min.
for drumset, synth, 2 electric guitars, bass guitar, vocals
Performed by Antagony

Photography by Denise Mahoney, Austin Fausto, Aldrin Bulayo and Kelly Orum.
©2010 Nick Vasallo. All rights reserved.

This page is maintained by Nick Vasallo, who is soley responsible for its content. The views represented here are not endorsed or regulated by California State University, East Bay (CSUEB).