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, premiered by Maya Beiser; Cosmic Reflection, for orchestra and narrator (relaying the full history of the universe in 40 minutes), premiered at the Kennedy Center and recorded by the Baltimore Symphony; an oratorio Repast: An Oratorio on the Life of Booker Wright, premiered at Carnegie Hall; and a 4-part oratorio, American Festivals, for orchestra, chorus, and soloists (with libretto by Robert Trent Jones) with movements dedicated to July 4th, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, and Thanksgiving.