Nolan wears many hats as a musician: composer, pianist, music director, author, speaker, and musicologist—as well as entrepreneur and social activist. Here is a brief overview of his multifaceted career activities:
COMPOSER
Nolan is an active composer in a myriad of genres: theater, film, classical, world, rock, jazz, etc. His original works (vocal and instrumental) are performed regularly by esteemed ensembles and performers at the most prestigious venues in the US and beyond. For more details see the “Works / Composition” tab on this website. To hear recordings, see the “Music” tab on this website.
To discuss future commissions from Nolan—for any occasion, medium, style, etc.—contact Ben Cohen (Cadenza Artists): ben@cadenzaartists.com or inquiry@nolangasser.com
PIANIST / MUSIC DIRECTOR
As pianist and music director, Nolan has a long and celebrated history of producing highly professional and entertaining shows in a wide variety of musical realms: from rock to jazz to Broadway to classical and beyond. Whether for public, private, or corporate events, Nolan tailors each show to the vision / themes desired by the producers or organizers—combining rich repertoire with stellar performances and enlightening background and musicological insight. Given his vast contacts, Nolan is able to call upon a wide stable of supremely talented vocalists and instrumentalists—providing unforgettable and unmatched musical events. To learn more, see the “Works / Performance” tab on this website.
To discuss hiring Nolan as pianist and/or music director, contact inquiry@nolangasser.com
AUTHOR / SPEAKER
Nolan’s book, Why You Like It: The Science and Culture of Musical Taste (Macmillan), has been garnering tremendous critical acclaim and media attention since its release on April 30, 2019. Nolan has done dozens of radio, podcast, and print interviews—including for NPR's “All Things Considered”, KQED’s “Forum”, Psychology Today , among many others. Similarly, Nolan does frequent speaking engagements—for public, private, festival, and corporate events—centering on his book, musical taste, music and well-being, music and productivity, music and culture, etc. He also continues to write articles, op-eds (e.g., for the LA Times), and undoubtedly will undertake another book in the future.
To discuss hiring Nolan for speaking engagements, contact Julianne.Lewis@macmillan.com or cspadafore@wmeagency.com
MUSICOLOGIST / RESEARCHER
With a Ph.D. in musicology from Stanford University (focus on medieval / Renaissance music)—combined with his work as the architect of Pandora’s Music Genome Project and his larger preoccupation with musical taste, best revealed in his book Why You Like It —Nolan occasionally makes time for musicology-oriented projects. These include forthcoming work on a music therapy / wellness genome; planned original research into several musical taste inquiries; and expert testimony in music analysis-related court cases.
To learn more about Nolan’s musicology / research work or to discuss potential collaborations in any of these areas, contact inquiry@nolangasser.com
ENTREPRENEUR / SOCIAL ACTIVIST
Coinciding with Nolan’s musical work are a few side projects in the business as well as social impact space. Specifically, Nolan is a co-creator and architect of the Impact Genome Project—working with measurement guru Jason Saul, CEO of Mission Measurement, based in Chicago. The Impact Genome Project is an ambitious and potentially paradigm-shifting endeavor to rationalize the social impact space (education, youth development, arts, sustainability, etc.) using “genomic” and statistical metadata approaches. Nolan is also the co-founder, with Bev Landstreet, of Emetry—a data analytics firm for the wine industry, being led by digital wine guru Paul Mabray.
For more information on the Impact Genome Project (Mission Measurement) and Emetry, visit https://www.impactgenome.org/about and https://www.emetry.io/ , respectively; or send an email to inquiry@nolangasser.com