Dan VanHassel

Dan VanHassel (b. 1981) is a composer and multi-instrumentalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ranging from harsh walls of noise to sensuous harmonies, his music creates a quirky and evocative sound world drawing from his experience in rock, Indonesian gamelan, free improvisation, and the Western classical tradition. Many of his works extend the capabilities of traditional instruments through the use of custom-designed interactive electronics. Recent commissions include the Shanghai Conservatory Electronic Music Week, Santa Barbara’s Now Hear Ensemble, the Dinosaur Annex ensemble in Boston, and Splinter Reeds in San Francisco. His works regularly appear at concerts and festivals throughout the world, including the MATA Festival, UC Davis Music and Words Festival, the International Computer Music Conference, the Bang on a Can Summer Festival, the Wellesley Composers Conference, June in Buffalo, the Music11 Festival, and the SEAMUS National Conference. Soloists and groups that have performed his work include: pianist Gloria Cheng, Talea Ensemble, Empyrean Ensemble, Ensemble Pamplemousse, Red Fish Blue Fish, Ensemble SurPlus, pianist Keith Kirchoff, Ignition Duo, bassoonist Dana Jessen, and percussionist Joseph VanHassel. Active as a performer and improviser on piano and electric guitar, Dan is co-founder and artistic director of the Wild Rumpus new music ensemble. He has studied composition at the University of California at Berkeley, New England Conservatory, and Carnegie Mellon University.