Nolan Gasser

Composer, Author, Speaker

“…Gasser’s work definitively accomplished everything it set out to do, and then some: the music was mesmerizing ” – Oakland Tribune

Nolan Gasser is a critically acclaimed composer, pianist, and musicologist – most notably, the architect of Pandora Radio’s Music Genome Project and the company’s chief musicologist from its founding in 1999. He holds a Ph.D. in Musicology from Stanford University. His original compositions have been performed in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall (Lincoln Center), the Kennedy Center, La Salle Pleyel (Paris), and the Rose Bowl (Pasadena), among many others.

Nolan’s classical compositions include an opera, The Secret Garden, commissioned by San Francisco Opera; The World Concerto, for cello, erhu, oud, sarangi, and orchestra; Cosmic Reflection, for narrator and orchestra, commissioned by NASA; and Repast: A Civil Rights Oratorio, for baritone, chorus, and piano, premiered at Carnegie Hall.

The Secret Garden is based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, with the libretto written by Carey Harrison. The opera was commissioned by the San Francisco Opera, in partnership with Cal Performances, and premiered on in 2013 at the University of California, Berkeley. The SF Chronicle described the piece by saying, “…the new work remains broadly faithful to its source while still making time to welcome young listeners into the world of opera. The sultry, rhythmically hypnotic sounds of India give way nicely to the more forthright sounds of the North English moor and Gasser sprinkles his tonal harmonies with enough dissonant spice and sparkle to keep things interesting.”

His theatrical projects include the musical Benny & Joon—which just completed a successful run at the Paper Mill Playhouse and next heads to New York. The press writes: “Gasser’s score is such a delight, with tear jerkers and instrumentals that are lush and fulfilling.”

Nolan’s book, Why You Like It: The Science and Culture of Musical Taste, was just released on April 30, 2019 (Macmillan Press)—called “a work of staggering erudition and breadth… a gateway to music’s exalted state” by The Economist. He speaks regularly on a variety of musical topics.