Personal Statement I grew up in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio listening to lots of rock music while learning to play classical piano. I set out, starting around the age of 16, to write music that would combine the two without compromising the essential elements of either. This mission has essentially stayed the same through the ensuing years, although my horizons have broadened considerably in that time. In my music I look for the connection between the hard-hitting viscerality of heavy metal bands like Rage Against the Machine and the savage ferocity of composers like Iannis Xenakis; the similarity between the intricate polyrhythms of Steve Reich and bands like Tool and Animal Collective; a place where the collage of musical quotations practiced by Charles Ives can coexist with the electronic sample collages of groups like Public Enemy. Now based in the Bay Area, I am keeping busy composing music as well as performing and improvising on the piano, guitar, and computer. - Dan VanHassel
Official Bio Dan VanHassel (b. 1981) is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and concert producer living in Oakland, CA. His music is deeply grounded in his experience growing up performing in rock bands as well as orchestras and chamber ensembles, and explores unexpected connections between American popular music and the contemporary avant-garde. Some of today’s top emerging performers have championed his music, including pianist Keith Kirchoff, saxophonist Michael Straus, flutist Laura Heinrichs, and bassoonist Dana Jessen. Ensembles such as Steve Schick’s Red Fish Blue Fish Ensemble, Ensemble SurPlus, the Virginia Intercollegiate Band, the Ohio University Percussion Ensemble, and the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic have also performed his work. Dan is also active as a performer and concert promoter. He was a founding member of the new music ensemble Agenda, the avant-garde rock band Output, and the composers collective Test Pattern. He also is a co-founder of the ‘Embryonic Noise’ concert series in Boston, devoted to the music of emerging composers, as well as the ‘Comprovised’ music series spotlighting contemporary improvisation. He has been educated at institutions including Carnegie Mellon University and the New England Conservatory, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D in composition at the University of California, Berkeley.