Paul Nabil Matthis
Curriculum Vitae
Composer-Performer, Social Media Creator, Author
Composer
Dance Scores
- 2022 Star Grass, with choreographer Nicole Shipley
- Social Impact Office Hours artist residency at Kennedy Center: REACH in Washington, DC
- 2019 Éxtasis Digital, by Yanina Orellana with Yvonne Lacombe, Fernando Orellana, and Jesse VanDenKooy
- Selected for "Best of New Shoes" series at Highways Performance Space, Santa Monica
- 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
- 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 Festival Association (ACDFA) 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
Film Scores
- 2019 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
- 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
- 2019-Current Trains Keep Passing, original folk opera based on 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)
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
- 2012 Orwell’s Cupcake Emporium (for woodwind quintet)
- 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
Performer
TV, Film, & Popular Music
- 2020 Kooky Cookin’, composer-performer for comedy web series by Erica Dawson
- 2019 Neon Exdeath, 80s-inspired vintage synthwave album composed, produced, and released by me
- 2019 Erica Dawson Comedy, producer and engineer for live comedy album
- 2019 Carter Roy, producer and recording engineer for children’s music album
- 2016 Mad Apple, burlesque folk rock band
- Former residents at Sassafras Saloon in Hollywood, CA
- 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 Capitol Records Singer/Songwriter CD Project
- 2010 Eden's Embrace, vocalist and pianist for short film by Nishan Hagop
- Selected for Sundance Film Festival
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
- 2014 Katastrofi, the second installment of a Greek mythology pop tragedy directed by Deen Selenow
- 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 Toxicos, a Greek mythology pop tragedy directed by Deen Selenow
- Performed at Highways Performance Space and Gallery
- 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
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 Kolokol
- 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 Schunk
Talks & Panels
- Traditional Music Throughout the Arab World, various locations
- Talk and performance demonstration of music theory, culture, and history throughout Southwest Asia and North Africa
- Interview on “The Listening Post, Al-Jazeera English
- Interviewed about social media travel vloggers during the post/continuing civil war era in Syria
- Around the Fantastical World in 50 Minutes, World Fantasy Convention 2021
- Fantasy has a long tradition of rich and colorful settings based on places all across the globe. Panelists discuss globally inspired aspects of settings such as unusual calendar systems, unique geographies, non-feudal political systems, and other details.
- The Rules of Fantasy, World Fantasy Convention 2021
- What have been the long-standing rules of Fantasy and how have they evolved over the years? What can you get away with in Fantasy that you can't in other Genres and what are the consequences of not following the rules?
- Sea Shanty Sing-Along, online workshop 2020
- Sea shanty discussion and performance workshop for Santa Clara County Library District
- 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.
Event Production
- Castaic Days Outdoor Festival
- MC, Assistant Event Director Castaic Lake Recreation Area, May 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
- Curator, assistant director, and Master of Ceremonies for fundraiser event by Castaic Days Civic Association.
- Lunatic Sun, Rock Musical
- Writer, Composer, Co-Producer Coffeehouse Theater, December 2012
- Workshop premiere involving musician and actor rehearsals, lighting, sound design, marketing and outreach, scheduling, and administrative duties.
Fiction Publications
- Aleph Rising, Arab-futurist science fiction novel (on submission)
Represented by Saint Gibson at Speilburg Literary
- Ishaya, fantasy short story
Published in Purple Prose magazine, 2017
- Cleaver Learns a Lesson, fantasy short story
Published in the Champions short story anthology, 2016
Academic Citations
- Neon Exdeath “Escape”
Cited in "The path to creativity: affordances and constraints of style parameters in Synthwave music and ‘DAW-based’ technology", Knigge J. (In review)
- 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)
Other Work Experience
Omaze
QA II Engineer
Los Angeles, CA, 2019 – December 2022
- Software quality assurance engineer for online charity fundraiser.
- Manual QA for all Community features of Omaze.com. Desktop/mobile UX testing, internal tools, and API use cases.
- Write and organize test cases using Jira in a fast-paced Agile/Scrum environment
- Coordinating directly with high-level stakeholders.
- Create and implement test plans for integration, regression, penetration, performance, smoke, and user acceptance testing.
- Assessing risk for all new features and deploys for black- and gray-box testing.
- Test automation in JavaScript with Selenium and Webdriver.io.
Artisanal Brewers Collective
IT Contractor
Los Angeles, CA, 2018 – 2019
- Website migration from WordPress to Wix for multiple venues under the ABC entertainment group umbrella. Successfully assisted content migration, sitemaps, security, and SEO to ensure zero downtime or PageRank loss.
GoDaddy
Premium Technical Support
Los Angeles, CA, 2015–2018
- 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.
Hodgepodge Records
Owner
Los Angeles, CA, 2014–Present
- Netlabel distributing recorded materials, creating and marketing promotional tools including video and online social media content
Hoffman Patent Group
IT Support & Legal Assistant
Santa Clarita, 2013 –2014
- Malware cleanup, HTML, CSS, PHP programming, research and outreach, content and design updates, general site maintenance. Patent and trademark research, digital image production in Adobe Photoshop and MS PowerPoint.
California Institute of the Arts
Graduate Recording Assistant
Valencia, CA, 2011–2013
- Managed and coordinated the Dizzie Gillespie Recording Studio at CalArts, including maintenance, troubleshooting, scheduling, and administrative duties
The Boat Studio
Assistant Sound Engineer
Los Angeles, CA, 2007–2008
- 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
EFILM
Data Management Operator
Los Angeles, CA, 2006—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.
Barry Kirsch Recording
Intern
Dubai, UAE, 2004
- Assisted sessions, produced beats, recorded singing and voiceovers
Chris Bell & Mike Recording
Intern
Los Angeles, CA, 2003
- Assisted sessions, produced music, runner, administrative duties
Vallhalla Motion Pictures
Intern
Los Angeles, CA, 2003
- Covered scripts, runner, administrative duties
Education
- California Institute of the Arts - Santa Clarita, CA, May 2013
M.F.A Music Composition & Vocal Performance
Composition studies with Marc Lowenstein and Barry Schrader, voice studies with Paul Berkolds and Jacqui Boback, recording and production technique with John Baffa and Clay Chaplin.
- Florida State University - Tallahassee, FL, May 2004
B.A. Music Composition & Vocal Performance
Composition studies with Mark Wingate and Mark Connor, voice studies with Isaac Hurtado and Kyle Ferrill.
Skills & Interests
- Skills: QA Deputy, VS Code, JIRA, TestRail, Adobe Cloud, Google Tools, Bash, LAMP stacks, JavaScript, Ableton Live, Audacity, ProTools, some Arabic.
- Interests: Backpacking, history, puzzle games, synths, hand drums, samurai movies, fantasy novels, live-looping, really snobby tea.
- Social Media: 75K+ followers on TikTok discussing Middle Eastern & North African history, culture, and music. 500K+ plays on Instagram Reels and approaching 10K followers.
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