Gabriele Vanoni

Position
Assistant Chair
Affiliated Departments
Faculty Bio E-Mail
Telephone
617-747-6484

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Gabriele Vanoni was born in Milan, Italy, in 1980. He obtained two bachelor’s degrees in piano and composition at Milan Conservatory, followed by a doctorate in music composition at Harvard University. His compositional interests range from acoustic music to live electronics. His works have been widely performed in Europe and the Americas, in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Biennale di Venezia, ManiFeste, Moscow Conservatory, New York University, and Accademia Chigiana di Siena, among many others. Likewise, various soloists and ensembles have been involved in performing his music, such as the Ensemble Intercontemporain, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Talea Ensemble, Moscow Studio for New Music Ensemble, and many more.

In addition to his activity as a composer, Vanoni served as artistic director and founder of Suggestioni, a festival of Italian music in the United States. He is an assistant professor in the Composition Department at Berklee College of Music. His recent commissions include a piece for the 2015 Universal Exposition in Milan (Nutrire La Musica) and a new piece for accordion and string orchestra.

Career Highlights
  • Pianist
  • Founder and artistic director of the Suggestioni Festival
Education
  • Diploma, Milan Conservatory
  • M.A., Bocconi University
  • Diploma, Milan Conservatory
  • Ph.D., Harvard University
In Their Own Words

"When I am teaching composition, theory, or electroacoustic music, I carefully center my lectures on original sources, because firsthand material generally means more engagement in students. I also find it important to contextualize every piece of music in the society and the culture of the time in order to facilitate a better understanding of the origin of the composer's style. I think having a comprehensive knowledge of music from the historical, technical, and aesthetic points of view is important in order to avoid artistic repetition, and to lead composers to music yet-to-be-heard. A key element in my teaching is encouraging students to be technically prepared and capable of expressing themselves properly."

"The unique diversity and liveliness of the Berklee community offers the rare possibility to teach talented people who have little or no preconceptions about any music, should that be classical, jazz, popular, contemporary, or anything else. Such open minds, professionally trained at Berklee, will be able to leave a very unique mark on the music of the future. Being a European who came to live in the United States, I have had the chance to be part of the music scene in both areas. I always find it interesting to see how music changes (or not) across the ocean. When teaching, I invite students to start with the scores, but not to stop there, and to follow whatever in the work we do together that triggers their curiosity."

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