Biography
"You're completely out of your mind." -composer Nicola Moro
Nick Norton was born in 1986 in Santa Monica, California. He took up guitar and saxophone at an early age, and spent most of his formative years playing in various punk bands in Ventura County, before pursuing composition and guitar performance (and political theory, for some reason) at UC San Diego. While attending he studied composition with Harvey Sollberger, Lei Liang, Rand Steiger, and Chinary Ung, and guitar with Colin McAllister. He graduated with both department and university honors, as well as the Stewart Prize for Creative Achievement.
Immediately upon graduation Nick moved to Paris to study composition and counterpoint at L’Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris with Michel Merlet, Philip Lasser, Sofia Gubaidulina and Robert Beaser, before heading to London to obtain an MMus from King’s College, where his principal instructors included Robert Keeley, John Deathridge, and Arnold Whittall. Nick has most recently received instruction from Peabody Award winning composer Libby Larsen.
Nick's music has been performed and workshopped by The Kansas City Chorale, L'ensemble Portmantô, WomenSing, The London Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, Exaudi, The Stranded Ensemble, Ensemble Progress, New Music Hartford, Lontano, The New York Miniaturist Ensemble, Harvey Sollberger, Ensemble Multiphon, Xelm Ya, William Fried, the UCSD Guitar Ensemble, and others. Nick has won awards, commissions, and grants from The American Composers Forum, ASCAP, Meet the Composer, WomenSing, L'ensemble Portmantô, Fabricio Mattos, The City of Curitiba, The Dartington School, King's College London, UC San Diego, and the London Contemporary Chamber Orchestra.
Nick now lives in Los Angeles and spends most of his time composing, playing in the bands
Honest Iago and Better Looking People With Superior Ideas, going to concerts, and failing to cook. He is composer in residence for
L'ensemble Portmantô, a Vice President of
Music to Heal, Music Director for
Pavement Press, and Admiral of
The Hashtag Armada. He enjoys spending time with his friends, trying new and exciting foods, watching movies, travel, reading, building furniture from IKEA, armchair philosophy, and most things involving boats.
