Description

PAUL NABIL MATTHIS   –   Curriculum Vitae

Composer-Performer, Interdisciplinary Artist, Author

Los Angeles, CA  ‌•  paulnm@gmail.com‌  •  (310) 402-3736  •  paulmatthis.com

 

C O M P O S E R
Film Scores

2018-Current Ways of Forgetting, feature art film produced by FLOCK

•   Funded in part by Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies grant

2015 Rigor Mortie, promotional audiovisual materials for literary marketing company

2013 The Next Step Is, dance film by Victoria Sendra and choreographer Lindsey Lollie

•   Selected for CalArts Film/Video Showcase at REDCAT in Los Angeles

•   Selected for Out of the Box Festival at Jam Jar in Dubai

•   Selected for Dance For Camera Festival at the Lincoln Center in NYC

•   Selected for Dance Camera West at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles

•   Selected for Dance on Film Series at Jacob Burns Film center in NYC

•   Selected for Dance on Film Tour at Scotiabank Dance Centre in Vancouver

•   Selected for Dance on Camera Festival 2013 at University of Michigan

•   Selected for Moving Sounds Festival

•   Selected for Spontaneous Disruptions

2012 Cahuenga: Place on the Hill, for Christopher Coppola’s PAH Fest

•  Winner, grand prize

•  Winner, best score

2012 A Taste in the Afternoon, film short by Fiona Li

2011 Cactus Cooler, score and sound design for experimental animation short by Andrew Hutton

2010 Eden’s Embrace, score for short film by Nishan Hagop

•   Selected for Sundance Shorts Film Festival

2006 Crash Bandicoot Promo, for online marketing short

2005 Fresh Imports, opening theme for TV pilot by Alpine Productions

2005 Kidzonline, intro theme for online interactive site

2004 Alaawiat, library music for BK Productions

2004 Ripples, for Project Pioneer 48-Hour Film Competition by Sloane Korach & Tony West

•   Winner, grand prize

2004 Jigsaw, online interactive film by Sloane Korach

2004 Daydreamer, film short by Scott Nowlin

2004 Katana Blues, film short by Morgan Hanner

2004 Treehouse, film short by Doro Zuleger

2004 Playback, film short by Greg O’Bryant

2004 The Box, film short by Meredith Higgins

2003 Crush, film short by John Lang

2003 Minute Man, film short by Stephen Broussard

2003 Sarah, film short by Rashi Bahri

 

Theatrical Scores

2018-Current Trains Keep Passing, original chamber opera inspired by my Syrian grandfather’s poetry

2018-2019 On Death, multimedia work by Allison Keating, with Thymele Arts & Wild Art Group

2014 Road Kill Giant, by award-winning playwright Aleshea Harris & directed by Marina McClure

2013 Katastrofi, pop culture/Greek tragedy mash-up conceived & directed by Deena Selenow

2013 Toxikos, conceived & directed by Deena Selenow

•   Selected for NOW Festival 2013 at REDCAT

2013 Flight, acrobatic opera by Katie Gardner, for string duet and fixed-media, with Chaz Underriner

2013 Plushtopia, musical performed for Alice Tuan’s Flash Theater Challenge

2010-2012 Lunatic Sun, original feature-length rock musical

•  Winner of Paul Stephen Lim Playwriting Award (with Michael Yichao Wang)

 

Dance Scores

2016 As occurred, as recalled, with Whyteberg Dance Company

•  L.A. Arts Exchange 2016 featured work

2014 Interval, with choreographer Lindsey Lollie.

•   Premiered at Celebrate Dance 2014

•   Selected for REDCAT Spring Studio 2014

•   Selected for CalArts Commuter Festival 2014

2013 Yes is Not Passive, with CalArts professors Stephanie Nugent and Robin Cox

•   Director’s Choice Award at Santa Cruz Fringe Festival

•   Performed at REDCAT

•   Performed at ARC Pasadena

2013 Bee-Eaters, with Cameron Hicks and Gregory Dorado of Dancing Grounds

•   Long-form electroacoustic dance production integrating jazz and ambient music

2012 I Am, with choreographer Mersiha Mesihovic of CircuitDebris

•   Selected for NYC10 Dance Initiative showcase

•   Selected for Dance Soirée by Sobers and Godly

•   Selected for Brooklyn NY Dance Festival organized by Fresh Peach Dance

•   Selected by the nonprofit 92Y as part of Roots in Revolution

2012 Bits of Mind, with choreographer Yanina Orellana

•   Selected for CalArts Accepted Student Event

2012 Memory is a Movie, with CalArts dance professor Laurence Blake

•   Performed at REDCAT

2012 Quadratic, with choreographer Ariana Daub of ATE9 Dance Company

•   Framework for free improvised performance piece

•   Performed at CalArts Incoming Students Event

2012 Breathe, with choreographer Daniel Charon of Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company

•   Electroacoustic framework in which the score is generated in real time by the dancer’s breath

2012 Above It All, with choreographer Cesilie Kverneland of COMA Performance Group

•   Drawing inspiration from Japanese Buto, dubstep, and the Norwegian countryside

2011-2012 The Next Step is to Go Back, with choreographer Lindsey Lollie.

•   Selected for Pasadena Dance Festival

•   Selected for California Electronic Music Exchange Concert (CEMEC) at UCSD

•   Selected for American College Dance (ACDFA) Festival Association Showcase 2012

2011 Female Dog, with choreographer Chelsea Conwright

•   Exploring the world of drugs and deviant sexuality through a young woman’s eyes

2011 The Lamp Piece, with choreographer Michelle Sagarminaga

•   Electroacoustic performance using the body’s bioelectric signals through a touch lamp

2008 I Am Here Now: A Process, with Nicole Durfee

•   Performed by iN.D.dance company in NYC

2006 Artifacts of Lost Moments, with choreographer Nicole Durfee

•   A study in nostalgia through the exploration of familiar space

2004 Rooms & Reasons, with choreographer Nicole Durfee

•   Master’s Exhibition featuring real-world sounds blended with symphonic instrumentation

2003 A Propensity For Orange, with choreographer Kendra Andrews

•   Produced and performed for the Dance Repertory Theater of Florida

 

Chamber Works

2019 The Bird People (Theme from Ways of Forgetting)

•  For voice, clarinet, and hand pan drum, performed by Dan Ogrodnik and Samantha Hopkins

2013 ASTEROZOA (long form production for multiple ensembles)

•   I. Autotomy (To Write a Song), for voice, banjo and guitar pedals

•   II. Arkarua, for string quartet

•   III. Asteroidea, for five pianos

•   IV. Ambulacral Groove, for five African Ewe drums

•   V. Abyssal, for voice and guitar pedals and ensemble

2012 Lazybones

•  Theme-and-variations in improvised multi-instrumental framework for any performing ensemble

2012 There In the Old City

•   For symphony orchestra, conducted by Mark Menzies

2012 Swarm of the Raxion Gruntle Bugs

•   For prepared and unprepared piano, performed by Christoffer Schunk

2012 Fantasie for Harp and Violin

•   Harmonic series etude

2012 Orwell’s Cupcake Emporium (for woodwind quintet)

•   Hocket etude

2012 Pebbles on the Beach (for prepared vibraphone)

•   Performed by Tony Gennaro

2012 Proa (for percussion ensemble)

•   For deconstructed drum kit, recorded by Rhein Percussion Ensemble

2011-2012 $4.33

•   For coins and electronics

2011 A Series of Unfortunate Events (for solo cello)

•   Extended techniques etude

•   Recorded by Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick

2011 The Train From Canaan To Sodom (for cello and double bass)

•   Arabic maqamat exhibition

2004 Eye Yam Cereal, (for solo piano)

•   Serialism study

2003 Mortemis Rodentia (for solo flute)

•   Selected for FSU Incoming Student Concert

 

P E R F O R M E R
Chamber

2013 Asterozoa, Graduate MFA recital movements I. and V.

2013 Tango Alemán, by Maurico Kagel, as tenor with Shane Summers, Yu-Ting Wu, and Lucié Vitkova

•   Featured on the CalArts home page

2013 Untitled Duet for Voice and Violin, composed by James Tatti, performed with violinist Nic Salas

2013 Bobo, improvisation vocal framework for a large crowd with Claire Gendler

2012-2013 Georgian Sextet, as tenor with Linnea Sablosky and Bobby Halvorson

2012 Either/Or, by John Eagle, as tenor

•   Performed at the Inner Beast Concert

2012 Auto-Tune Choir, multimedia composition by Kristin Erickson Galvin

2012 John Cage Centenary: The Long Books, a performance of John Cage’s Song Books

•   Only full realization of the Song Books during a single solo performance in history

2012 ILXI, algorithmic choral piece by Denis Colonel

•   Made possible by a grant from CEC ArtsLink

2012 The Eyes Are Not Here, by Chris Schunk and Lauren Frias

•   Long-form vocal and dance production utilizing extended techniques in the style of Roy Hart

2011-2012 Advanced Improvisation Series, with Suzie Allen

•   Performing with renown improvisers such as Peni Candrarini and Roman Stolyar

2011 Prague, a just-intonation vocal composition by Christoffer Chunk

 

Theater

2018-2019 On Death, multimedia work by Allison Keating, with Thymele Arts & Wild Art Group

2015 Hopscotch, immersive multimedia opera that takes place in cars, by The Industry L.A.

•   Emmy-winner

•   Nominated for Pulitzer Prize

2013-2014 Hush-A-Bye, with Aleshea Harris, voice and beatbox for spoken word performance

•   Performed at African American Shakespeare Company in San Francisco

2013 Die Fledermaus, as Eisenstein in a selection of scenes from Johann Strauss’s classic farce

2013 Mini-Golf, as Blortus in the premiere of Kristin Erickson’s absurdist immersive musical

2013 Hip Hop:Re:Education Cyber Cypher, digital interactive collaboration, with CultureHub

2012 The Fairy Queen, as Francis Flute in Henry Purcell’s opera based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream

2012 The House is Open, as The Doctor in the premiere of Alex Vassos’s electroacoustic opera

2011-2012 Music Theater Improv, long form musical improvisation directed by Michael Yichao Wang

2011 To Kill A Mockingbird, providing various recorded a cappella spirituals

2011 Prosper Springs, as Tenor 2 in the debut of Chaz Underriner’s avant-garde opera

 

Film & Popular Music

2016-Current Mad Apple, personal band

•  Former residents at Sassafras Saloon in Hollywood, CA

2019 Erica Dawson Comedy

•  Producer and engineer for live comedy album

2014 Lunatic Nail Cut, Serge synth player,

•  Included on the album “Stroboberries” by Julian Valdi-Vieso

2014 Kepler X-47, as Alien Vocalist for short film by Erin Li

•   Best Short Film Nominee, The Geekie Awards

•   Grand Jury Golden Reel Nominee – Excellence in Short Film, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Fest

•   AFI Directing Workshop for Women Showcase, at the Directors Guild of America

•   The Caucus Foundation for Writers, Producers and Directors Grant Recipient

•   ARC Center for Cultural Innovation Grant Recipient

•   Panavision New Filmmakers Production Grant Recipient

•   Selected for SHOOT New Directors Showcase

•   Selected for SITGES International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia

•   Selected for LACMA Young Directors Night

•   Selected for American Cinematheque – Outta This World: Sci Fi and Other World Shorts

•   Selected for Sci-Fi London, at the British Film Institute (BFI)

•   Selected for Sarasota Film Festival

•   Selected for Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival

•   Selected for Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo

•   Selected for Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival

•   Selected for Philip K. Dick Film Festival

•   Selected for US China Film & TV Industry Expo

•   Selected for Dragon Con Independent Film Festival

•   Selected for New Filmmakers Los Angeles

•   Selected for Capital City Film Festival

•   Selected for Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival

•   Selected for Etheria World Tour

2012 Gas Banjo, original song for rock band and modified banjo

•   Selected for CalArts Singer/Songwriter CD Project

2010 Eden’s Embrace, vocalist and pianist for short film by Nishan Hagop

•  Selected for Sundance Film Festival

 

 

E V E N T   P R O D U C T I O N
Castaic Days Outdoor Festival

MC, Assistant Event Director                                                                 Castaic Lake Recreation Area, May 4-5, 2013

•   Curator, assistant director, and Master of Ceremonies for fundraiser event by Castaic Days Civic Association.

ASTEROZOA

Composer, Producer                                                                                    Roy O. Disney Concert Hall, March 19, 2013

•   Coordinated large-scale, multi-ensemble performance of an original composition.

Lunatic Sun, Jazz/Hip Hop Musical

Writer, Composer, Co-Producer                                                                                        Coffeehouse Theater, December 1, 2012

•   Workshop premiere involving musician and actor rehearsals, lighting, sound design, marketing and outreach, scheduling, and administrative duties.

 

 

P A N E L S
Storytelling Through Music, World Fantasy Convention 2018

•  Panel description: Stories have long been set to music. Whether a song has been written to accompany words or used to inspire a scene, panelists discuss how music impacts their stories. Copanelists: Deanna Sjolander (M), Linda Robertson, and L. E. Modesitt Jr.

Calamity Jane Defeats Conan: the Persistence of American Folklore in Fantasy Literature, World Fantasy Convention 2017

•  Panel description: English language fantasy literature traditionally draws heavily on European history, mythology and folklore. Many contemporary writers have worked to integrate the myths and literatures of non-European cultures and other underrepresented groups. But little attention has been given to the strong and persistent threads of American folklore running through our fantastic literature — and how antebellum tales of frontier women, backwoodsmen, Yankee peddlers, myriad American tricksters and other popular archetypes inform contemporary fantasy narratives by North Americans. Some historical people lend themselves to becoming fantasy characters more than others. We can imagine Abe Lincoln killing Vampires, JFK surviving to help Elvis fight mummies, even Davy Crockett riding on a comet (a popular folk tale in the mid 1800s). What are the qualities which make such a hero so compelling in the transition between reality and fantasy? Copanelists: Christopher Brown (M), Stephanie Feldman, and Steve Saffel.

 

 

P U B L I C A T I O N S
Ishaya, fantasy short story

•  Published in Purple Prose magazine, October 2017

Cleaver Learns a Lesson, fantasy short story

•  Published in the Champions short story anthology, July 2016

 

 

C I T A T I O N S
My Parody and How to Avoid YouTube Content ID Detection

•  Cited in “You(Tube), Me, and Content ID: Paving the Way for Compulsory Synchronization Licensing on User-Generated Content Platforms”, 81 Brook. L. Rev. (2016)

 

 

O T H E R   W O R K   E X P E R I E N C E
Hodgepodge Records

Owner                                                                                                                                     Los Angeles, CA, April 2014–Present

•   Netlabel distributing recorded materials, creating and marketing promotional tools including video and online social media content

GoDaddy

Premium Technical Support                                                    Los Angeles, CA, November 2015–November 2018

·       Advanced analyst for WAF, CDN, and DDoS mitigation. Web administration for LAMP stack. Database management, general CMS implementation, DNS configuration, ICANN administration, site migration. Writing and editing technical support material.

California Institute of the Arts

Graduate Recording Assistant                                                                   Valencia, CA, September 2011–May 2013

•   Managed and coordinated the Dizzie Gillespie Recording Studio at CalArts, including maintenance, troubleshooting, scheduling and administrative duties

EFILM

Data Management Operator                                                   Los Angeles, CA, July 2006—March 2007

•  Operated the largest digital storage facility on the west coast. Implemented and wrote UNIX scripts, allocated space, recorded digital tapes, created paperwork, and scheduled filmouts.

The Boat Studio

Assistant Sound Engineer                                                                   Los Angeles, CA, January 2007–Aug 2007

•   Designing and implementing recording setups, scheduling clients, administrative duties, all session duties for high profile bands like Stanley Clark, Beck, Tenacious D and the Sex Pistols

Barry Kirsch Recording

Intern                                                                                                                                                           Dubai, UAE, Summer 2004

•   Assisted sessions, produced beats, recorded singing and voiceovers

Chris Bell & Mike Recording

Intern                                                                                                                                               Los Angeles, CA, Summer 2003

•   Assisted sessions, produced music, runner, administrative duties

Vallhalla Motion Pictures

Intern                                                                                                                                               Los Angeles, CA, Summer 2003

•   Covered scripts, runner, administrative duties