Nicholas Omiccioli

NIck Omiccioli

Nicholas S. Omiccioli (b.1982) is currently a residency fellow with the Charlotte Street Urban Culture Project in Kansas City, MO. Just recently, Nick was also awarded a residency at Copland House which he will fulfill in October 2013. His music has been performed in Canada, Italy, Austria, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Thailand, China, New Zealand, Sweden, and throughout the United States. Nick has worked with ensembles such as the Jasper String Quartet, Calder Quartet, Curious Chamber Players, le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, l’Orchestre de la francophonie, and the Society for New Music to name a few. His music has been featured at the Aspen Music Festival and School, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, (le) Poisson Rouge, Beijing Modern Music Festival, Thailand International Composition Festival, Wellesley Composers Conference, Festivalis Druskomanija, and Domain Forget, among others.

Nick has been commissioned by the Wellesley Composers Conference, Shouse Institute at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, National Arts Centre in Canada, Third Angle Ensemble, and the Chamber Music Project at the Aspen Music Festival and School. In addition to receiving many awards, grants, and fellowships, Nick was a finalist for the 2013 Rome Prize in music composition and has received multiple nominations for scholarships by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His primary composition teachers include James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, and Brian Bevelander. He has also had additional study with João Pedro Oliveira and Stephen Hartke. Nick holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Heidelberg University. When not composing, Nick enjoys listening to heavy metal and watching cartoons.

Nicholas Omiccioli; burning
The work I intend to write for the Berkeley Earshot Readings is inspired by my early roots in playing guitar in heavy metal bands. Growing up, I was into groups such as Megadeth, Metallica, and In Flames for their hard edge, driving rhythms, virtuosic guitar solos, and melodic hooks. The aim of the work is to exploit the raw, visceral nature of various sub-genres of heavy metal music within the context of an orchestra.