Expertise
Sound Recording Technology, Composition, Electroacoustic music, Filmscoring
Research Interests
Music Composition, Film Scoring, Audio for Visual and Interactive Media, Musical Semiotics, Semiotics of Recording Production, Human Performance
Education
- Post-graduate studies: Recording Arts, University of Colorado, Denver - Denver, Colorado
- Supporting Area: Pedagogy of Recording Arts, Music Production
- Doctor of Musical Arts (DMusA): Music Composition, University of Colorado, Boulder - Boulder, Colorado
- Supporting Area: Music Technology, Computer Music
- Master of Music (M.M.): Music Composition, Lamont School of Music, University of Denver - Denver, Colorado
- Supporting Area: Music Theory
- Bachelor of Music (B.M.): Music Composition, Lamont School of Music, University of Denver - Denver, Colorado
- Supporting Area: Music Technology, Computer Music
Biosketch
Brandon Vaccaro is a composer, performer, music producer, and audio engineer.
As a composer, Vaccaro has received awards, commendations, and commissions from Iowa State University Carillon Festival, New York Youth Symphony’s First Music program, the University of Denver, the University of Colorado, Boulder, Society of Composers, Incorporated /American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP/SCI), the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and the Motion Picture Sound Editors.
As a performer and improviser, Vaccaro has been active in chamber and popular venues. He was guitarist of several innovative bands in Colorado’s Front Range including Kallisti and Coefficient of Friction. He has also collaborated with S. Lyn Goeringer, Conrad Kehn (as MacroCephalic Cabal), Jesse Woods (as Ground), and Scott Schulz (as Shutter Trio).
From 2007-2008, he curated a gallery series for music, sound installations, and audio/visual works in Denver titled Sound.scapes Presented by Mystery Cabal.
Vaccaro holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in composition from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He also studied at the Lamont School of Music, University of Denver and the University of Colorado, Denver.
Vaccaro is currently the coordinator of Sound Recording Technology and an Associate Teaching Professor in Music at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.
Selected Awards and Honors
- 2012 Heartland Emmy winner
- 2014 Heartland Emmy nominee
- 2012 Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Nominee
- Regional Winner, 2007 SCI / ASCAP Composition Competition
- Honorable Mention, 2007 Edward Levy Prize
- 2006 Iowa State University Carillon Composition Competition winner
- New York Youth Symphony / First Music 23 Special Recognition (Top 7 entries)
Selected Publications
- Vaccaro, Brandon; 2023; Fatigue: What Can Sports Science Teach Us About Performance in Audio Production?; University of Massachusetts Lowell.