Andy DiGelsomina | |
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DiGelsomina in 2012
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Background information | |
Born | Springfield, Ohio, USA |
Genres | Rock Opera,Hard rock, Wagnerian Rock, 21st Century Classical Music, Art Music,heavy metal |
Occupation(s) | Composer, Orchestrator, Arranger, Producer, Sound Designer |
Instruments | Lead Guitar,Synthesizer |
Years active | 2004–present |
Website | andydigelsomina |
Andy DiGelsomina is an American composer, lead guitarist, songwriter, orchestrator, arranger, blogger, and producer.
DiGelsomina was born in in Springfield, Ohio. His father was a fan of rock music, while his fraternal grandfather preferred traditional art music which made both genres very impactful during the composer's early years.
Though the music of Elton John and Jerry Goldsmith started his lifelong love of music, DiGelsomina first aimed at becoming a fiction writer, shunning high school to earn a college degree at the age of eighteen. It was around that time that he heard the first Black Sabbath album and and subsequently changed his major to music. His time in school was cut short when he abandoned the institutionalized education system and instead became a determined autodidact .
His next musical revelation came in the form of the operas of Richard Wagner, which spurred him to study orchestral scores and instruments, greatly expanding his range as a composer. He cites Ludwig Van Beethoven's late-era string quartets as having had a profound effect on his writing during that time as well .
DiGelsomina first came to prominence in 2010, upon working with ex-Rainbow vocalist Graham Bonnet for the Lyraka album, Lyraka Volume 1, an album he wrote, played lead guitar on, and co-produced. Since then he has recorded with many people in the heavy metal genre, including Mark Boals, Al Atkins, and Robert Lowe among others.
The composer is currently completing the Lyraka Symphony no. 1, as well as the final mix of Lyraka Volume 2; both works were composed, produced, arranged, and orchestrated by himself.
Heavy metal critic Martin Popoff referred to DiGelsomina point blank as a "great songwriter", and Metal Rules magazine lauded the compositional style on Lyraka Volume 1, calling it a "type of cross-fertilized metal that...I've never heard before. Bands mixing different styles and influences is nothing new, but Lyraka have really created something special." DiGelsomina refers to this style as "Serial Vignette Composition".