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Jessica Muñiz-Collado
TEACHING & CONSULTING
Born in Miami, FL Jessica Muñiz-Collado is a music consultant, composer/producer, percussionist and Assistant Professor of Music Business at the University of North Texas. Jessica founded NIZCO MUSIC because she believes that a career in music is achievable and does not want to see any more musicians give up on their artistic visions. Jessica offers services in music career and business planning, education planning, technology training, artist development, and music curriculum development. She has presented numerous times at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) /GenNext conference in Anaheim, California, The Association of Popular Music Education (APME) conference, and was a guest speaker at the international music conference LeRock & L'Amour held at the Universite Paul-Valery in Montpellier, France. She also presented at the 2019 National Association for College Admission Counseling’s (NACAC) Performing Arts Fair where she spoke on leadership careers through the arts. In addition to speaking on music income opportunities at various colleges/universities, Jessica is a Voting Member for The Recording Academy, a NAMM/College Music Society Fellow grant recipient, and has spoken at numerous multimedia and leadership conferences. Jessica serves on the Music Business Association and the Recording Academy (TX Chapter) education committees, in addition to the music industry committee for the College Music Society. She also served as a music technology judge for the 2020, 2021, and 2022 Hit Like A Girl-Beats By Girlz International Beatmaking Contest.
SCORING FOR MEDIA & PRODUCTION
She has worked as a composer/music producer for MundoFOX's television series "Los Golden Boys" (produced by Oscar De La Hoya & Mario Lopez), PBS, Univision, Odyssey Earth Films, an IMAX conservation film project, award-winning COPILOT Music+ Sound, Universal Production Music, award-winning INC24 imagination Productions, N.N. Media Productions, Open Door Film Productions, and many others. She's also an award recipient in the 2019 Hit Like A Girl International Competition: Music Technology/Beatmaking category.
MUSIC COMPOSITION
She has compositions published with the HoneyRock Music Publishing Company, JW Pepper, and is a commissioned composer. Her compositions have been nationally and internationally performed in countries as far as Afghanistan, Argentina, Canada, and Italy. Her pieces have also been performed by members of the Diane Moser Big Band including legendary tubist, Howard Johnson, Boston's Callithumpian Consort Percussion Trio, members of New York's renowned Bang On A Can and Asphalt Orchestra, the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra located in Alberta, Canada, and the Spokane New Music Ensemble. Jessica has also composed and worked as a sound designer for theatre and dance mediums. Her most recent dance commission was by choreographer Augusto Soledade for his distinguished Augusto Soledade BrazzDance company.
PERFORMANCE AND RECORDING
She has had the privilege to perform and/or record with numerous musicians and percussion artists including Grammy-nominated saxophonist Steve Elson, world-renowned Indian Carnatic Vocalist Sudha Ragunathan, jazz vibraphonist Arthur Lipner, Anders Astrand, Jean Geoffroy, Ney Rosauro, trumpet all-star John Walsh, and NY Singer/Songwriter Jo-Hannah Reynolds. She has performed throughout North and South America, Europe, and has toured with the FROST Percussion Sextet in Japan.
EDUCATION
Jessica received her MFA in Music Composition at the Vermont College of Fine Arts under the direction of Emmy-nominated composer, music producer, and music supervisor Don DiNicola, and award-winning jazz pianist/composer Diane Moser. She also received a BM in Percussion Performance at the FROST School of Music (University of Miami) under the direction of renown percussionist/composer and Yamaha Artist Dr. Ney Rosauro, Vic Firth Artist Edward “Ted” Adkatz (former Principal Percussionist of the Chicago Symphony), Latin Percussion Artist Richard Bravo, and Pearl Drumset Artist Olbin Burgos just to name a few.
PRESS RELEASES
Her pieces have received positive reviews from the Percussive Arts Society: Percussive Notes magazine, Digital Drummer magazine, Artburst Miami MAZ: MiamiArtZine and Music Connection Magazine for her compositional work with the Augusto Soledade's BrazzDance Production Shade.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
The Recording Academy - Voting & Education Committee Member
Music Business Association - Education Committee Member
Association for Popular Music Education
Music Entertainment & Industry Educators Assoc.
Society of Composers & Lyricists
College Music Society - Chair of Music Industry Council
Broadcast Music, Inc.
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Don DiNicola
MUSIC COMPOSITION
Emmy-nominated composer, music supervisor, and filmmaker, Don DiNicola just completed a new score for Emmy Award-winning director, Patty Zagarella’s web-series “Blind Love”, to be released in 2020.
Their previous collaboration on the film, “Baring It All” won an Emmy Award in 2011. This past summer Don’s latest film, “Space Germ” was selected as part of the Brooklyn Film Festival’s BFF Kids Film Fest. The screening was attended by a full house, graciously hosted by festival director Lisa King and followed by a Q&A with the kids! Earlier in the year, “Space Germ”, an animated film written and directed by DiNicola, had its world premiere at New Filmmakers NY 2019 Festival, screening at the Anthology Film Archives. It was one of the last screenings in the Anthology Film Archives historical, original space. While we were there, we saw the plans for the new renovation which looks fantastic! Can’t wait!! Late 2017 Don completed a full score for John Scagliotti’s new documentary, “Before Homosexuals”. The film marks John and Don’s 3rd collaboration and we think it was the best one yet. Although “After Stonewall” was pretty fabulous as well!
FILM DIRECTION & PRODUCTION
In early 2018 Don’s animated short “ORIGINS ‘Before There Was A Before’” was a finalist at the German United Film Festival. “Origins” also received the 2016 Phantasmagorical Film Festival’s Best 3D Animation award. Employing all of his filmmaking skills, “Origins” has a 5.1 sound mix, includes original compositions and stars Fredi Walker-Browne (“Rent” and “The Lion King”). In 2015 Don directed and produced an original score by Renée Baker, recorded by the Chicago Modern Orchestra Project, for the 1925 Oscar Micheaux film “Body and Soul”, starring Paul Robeson. The film received a grant from New Music USA to screen with a live orchestra sound track. It was performed at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, the Ebertfest, the Chatham 14 multiplex, and continues to tour internationally. Don’s animated film, “A Rabbit’s Life; In 3 Parts”, premiered at The Big Apple Film Festival 2014 and won Best Experimental at the 2015 Humboldt International Film Festival in California. His mixed-media short, "Karma Cats; The Chintamani Stone" spent two years screening at film festivals internationally with a special screening at the SoHo House Screening Series of Best British and International Shorts. In 2006 Don’s feature film directorial debut, "Nowhere Now; The Ballad of Joshua Tree" (Victoria Williams, Eric Burdon) enjoyed a vibrant life on the international film festival circuit before being picked up for a year by PBS affiliate KCET in Los Angeles. The film had a headline appearance at the Tucson Film and Music Festival which included live performances by bands featured in the film - Gram Rabbit and The Sibleys.
MUSIC SUPERVISION
His music supervisory work also appears in the Emmy Award-winning shows; "Suicide Bombers/Cult Of Death" (Discovery Channel), "The Art Of Failure; Chuck Connelly Not For Sale” (HBO), “Miami Ink”, “The First 48” and, most popularly, “How It’s Made”. DiNicola has written and produced music for Nat Geo, The History Channel, PBS, A&E, TLC, Discovery Channel, CNBC, Style Network, SundanceTV, and HBO networks.
SOUND PRODUCTION
In 2011, Don formed Eureka Post Production, supervising video and audio post-production for over 300 hours of broadcast TV programming including more than 1500 episodes of the hit show, “House Hunters International”.
MUSIC PRODUCTION
Don's music production experience for film, TV, and CD's include:
Body and Soul (Dir. Oscar Micheaux 1925, Artistic Director rescore), Romance & Cigarettes (Dir. John Turturro), Strip Search and Thought Crimes (both directed by Sidney Lumet), 100 Centre St. (A&E), Live & Learn (Darren Holden - Doubledee Music), Chamber Works by Paul Chihara (members of the London Symphony Orchestra - Albany Records), Golden Slumbers by Paul Chihara (featuring the Harlem String Quartet - Albany Records), Guitar Concerto by Paul Chihara (London Symphony Orchestra, Soloist: Pepe Romera. Conducted by Sir Neville Mariner - Albany Records), Love Music by Paul Chihara (London Symphony Orchestra. Conducted by Sir Neville Mariner - Albany Records), Yulan by Paul Chihara (Albany Records).
TEACHING
Don is a founding faculty member of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in Music Composition Program.