Meet Michael Gaspari

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael Gaspari and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael Gaspari, why did you pursue a creative career?
From the start, I always had a passion of creating things of all types. I was always intrigued with how different things in life worked behind the scenes, and music was one of these things. I was told by my parents that at merely one years old, I was fascinated with sound (music or not). My dad would constantly use his 5.1 surround system to pan the music around me, and I would follow where the sound was coming from. Beyond just that, I sang my first words instead of speaking them. Music was always there for me, and at age 5, I began my journey into the musical arts with piano lessons. It was around age nine that I ventured into creating my own pieces of music and learned how to notate. To further this skill, I was humbly accepted into my first young artist music program at the Westminster Conservatory. At this point, I was really only exposed to classical music, some jazz, and a handful of Coldplay songs. My parents always pushed me to venture out of my comfort zone with many aspects of my life, and music was one of those. Thanks to this push, at age eleven, I started using GarageBand on our family computer, and from here, I started messing around with sample based electronic composition. I also learned how to record audio from messing around with all of the functionalities in GarageBand. With this, I began to experiment with putting music to story by creating short stories that I would tell through audio. Most of these were based around a fictional boy and his relationship with a pet tiger, and I made nearly twenty episodes of this all for the fun of making media. From here, I wanted to broaden my horizons with music, and was lucky enough to be accepted to the Juilliard Pre-College program in New York City. I did not have the normal school schedule through eight to twelfth grade, as I committed to NYC every Saturday to take music classes at Juilliard, and it did not phase me. Saturdays were always a special day for me. I met so many amazing people at this program and grew a ton as an artist. At this point, I had a broad knowledge of music across traditional classical genres, but not as much in the modern landscape of music. There was only so much that Juilliard could do for me, as I did not want to be bound to a box, and I wanted to write music in every genre I could think of. Thankfully, my undergraduate education at Oberlin Conservatory gave me what I desired. Because of their Technology in Music and Related Arts (TIMARA) program, I finally had the courage to develop my own voice as an artist. This was yet another musical program that changed me for the better. Finally, I was able to conclude my musical studies for the meantime at the University of Miami Frost School of Music as a media scoring and production major. It was here that I got to explore my options in the workforce for music, and that was the missing piece in my musical journey. I can easily say that I would have not gone through all of this hard work and time commitments if I didn’t have a true passion for a creative career in music. It was always there with me, and that is something that a lot of people can relate to. Even non-musicians who consume music everyday can agree that music is a special art form that touches people in significant ways. As a consumer of music myself, I wanted to share my love for music with as many people as possible by pursuing it as a career, and I am currently doing that now. I could not be happier with my choice in career, and I am excited to continue working to my next artistic goals in life.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a composer at heart, but I also work in music production, film scoring, music technology, and performing. I would best describe my music as a mix of progressive rock and pop, using a heavy amount of synthesizers and electronic elements. Most importantly, I value storytelling in my music first and foremost. My most recent released album “On the Bridge” is a deep telling of my journey growing up in this world as an autistic person, the struggles I dealt with, and how I overcame them to get to where I am today. To summarize my album, I dealt with an immense amount of bullying for this difference in public school. To progress through everything I had to do up until this point, I would say that I had to do at least three times the amount of work. For example, socializing with important contacts in the industry took an immense amount of brain power, as social skills have always been a vulnerable part of my life. This is also why it was hard for me to make friends. I love music so much that I would constantly use it to escape from everything that was hard. With this album, I was able to use music to my advantage to tell this story in a unique and special way. Overall, a huge part of my brand is storytelling with my music. My next upcoming album will be called “Redemption”, and it will focus on my experiences with social barriers and relationships, diving deeper into the topics I brought up with “On the Bridge”. Beyond my own music, I also love making musical tools that others can use. I have used software and programming to create my own technologies in music to share to the vast community of musicians and artists. Currently, I have an app called “Noise and Buttons” that is aimed for the neurodivergent community to learn and play fun complicated music using sensory friendly interfaces like push buttons. I utilized this app and teaching method to work with disabled students in New Jersey and teach them music. This was done at a summer schooling program back in my hometown of Robbinsville, New Jersey. This project ended up becoming my masters thesis at the University of Miami, and has seen great potential to everyone that I have shown it to. This element of my brand is also extremely significant, and I plan to continue this path. Finally, I must state how important performing is to me. I started piano at age five, and now I am able to play any keyboard instruments including synthesizer in live settings. I love producing and audio engineering gigs, but the real winners for me are playing on a stage for people. It is great to feel the reactions of the audience while playing for them. It is truly a special feeling that words cannot describe. I lave learned many things in my journey, but the most major one is that you must stay true to yourself in this industry. Music taste and experience is different for everyone, and that is okay. What you should consider is what subset of the overall musical audience will be for you? How big will that subset be? How much gratification will you get our of your subset? Also, I must stress that it all really doesn’t matter. You can have one fan that’s life was changed because of your art, and that to me is more important than numbers. I am still a very small artists today, but I am enjoying it and would not change a thing.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I really love the South Miami area with the almost dead Sunset 24 Mall. I am someone who always love walking around remote places. I might be strange that way, but I always found these areas in any area I lived in during my life. Miami also does have some great places to eat. I cherish all the establishments around Miami, but the one I find myself always going back to is the Sushi Maki. Specifically the one in South Miami by the Sunset 24 Mall. This place may be a chain, but they do not feel like it. The people there are so nice, and because I am a regular, I always feel welcomed there. They even know my favorite order. I also cannot go without mentioning the campus of the University of Miami. I have spent two years as a graduate student at this school, and I was always so amazed by the unique construction of the buildings, and their connection with the tropical nature of South Florida. The wildlife was also a shock for me as I grew up in New Jersey. One place I haven’t gone to yet is this extremely tall ferris wheel near the Hard Rock Cafe, but I already know I will love it there. Also, definitely check out Brickell. This place has so much vibrant energy, and sometime even reminds me of New York with its diverse ascetics and activities available.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate this shoutout to the incredible neurodivergent community of our world. I am someone who is autistic, and have been an advocate for neurodivergent folks and overall disability rights. I did not realize that I was autistic until the age of twenty, and had a ton of time during the COVID-19 pandemic to reflect on my life experiences. I want this article to serve as a way to tell this incredible community that they deserve to pursue their artistic careers, and to tell the rest of the world to let them. I was able to pursue mine, but it took three times the amount of work to get to where I am over other neurotypical peers. The movement created by this community is a strong one, and we will continue to advocate for our place in creative fields like music. I also want to dedicate this to all of my friends, many who are neurodivergent as well. They have always been there for me. Some friendships go way back with me, and some are just getting started. If any of my friends are reading, you know who you are, and I want to tell you that I love you all from the bottom of my heart. Finally, I want to dedicate this to my parents. Without them, I would not have had the opportunities that I have today. I would have also been way more lost in my journey of self-discovery if it weren’t for their constant guidance and advocacy of me growing up. To everyone that I am dedicating this to, thank you all for making me the person I am today, and allowing me to pursue a career in music.

Website: https://www.michaelgasparimusic.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelgasparimusic?igsh=MXJ2YTA4dzdvMnE0MA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gaspari-8a8537187/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkDGZ05bhOLY2jsZtDCBMlQ

Other: https://mgasparimusic.github.io/Noise-and-Buttons/

Image Credits
Gregory Gaspari
Diego Clavixus
Yilong Zhang
Inji Jung