About

Bryan Pallotta’s compositional style is eclectic, drawing on influences from minimalism, spectralism, classic tonality, folk song, pop, and soundtrack scores. His years as a solo and ensemble pianist have taught him to approach composition from the performer’s perspective. He strives to make his music as idiomatic and uncomplicated for the performer as possible, while still producing interesting sounds and textures. Bryan’s range of compositional experience is broad as well, having written for orchestra, wind ensemble, and choir, solo piano, as well as over ten works for various chamber ensembles. Much of his music seeks to make the most out of each instrument, relishing in nontraditional sounds. Texture is nearly always at the forefront, with works sometimes lacking melody entirely.

Not content to settle only for acoustic instruments, Bryan has built up a solid supply of works and techniques in composing for electronics. While working on his bachelor’s degree, Bryan helped petition his music department to add a derelict music technology course back into the catalog, even recruiting his fellow students to register for the course so it would meet the enrollment minimum. He has used a combination of notation software, DAWs, VSTs, as well as analog recording equipment to produce music that is fully electronic, or as in the case of All Above Is Sky, a work that combines acoustic and electronic performances. Much of his work in electronic music has been focused on chiptunes, a genre of music that emulates the sounds and capabilities of video game systems’ sound cards from the fourth console generation and earlier.

In addition to his compositional career, Bryan has lived a rich life as a pianist and percussionist. He has performed works by composers such as Bach, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Liszt, Bartók, and Granados, as well as myriad living composers including David Dzubay, Christopher Cerrone, as well as many of his own works. As a pianist, he has competed in statewide competitions in Alabama for both solo performers and concerto primo. He has been performing with the University of Memphis’ Contemporary Chamber Players ensemble for the past four years, which has granted him abundant experience performing new and experimental music, giving him ever more insight into best practices for making your music look and feel more friendly to the performer. He has also spent time accompanying soloists, performing in a jazz band, and playing in numerous church bands.

Bryan received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, AL, where he focused on music education, piano performance, percussion, and voice. Studying composition with Kamran Ince, Bryan received his Master of Music degree from the University of Memphis, where he is currently pursuing his DMA under Mahir Cetiz.