My name is Dominick DiMaria, student of Contemporary Writing and Production at Berklee college of Music, from Long Island, NY. I have been writing music since age 12 or so, and it has always been a large part of my life. I picked up my first instrument, trumpet in my elementary school's music program, for no apparent reason, as there were no musicians in my family. Guitar soon followed (the reason for that, I can remember: because it was cool). I am a learned garage-band musician who just happens to have a deep love of theory. This has led me to write for many different styles and ensembles over the years. Most recently, I have been composing for and organizing a hip-hop fusion band and writing my first serious orchestral work in a twentieth century style (the latter is more of a hobby, as I have not been trained formally in orchestral writing). Professionally, I held two internships in NY, at Smash Studios and Penny Lane Studios, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I'll be ecstatic to visit both studios, as I relocate to NY, come the end of my Berklee education.
Aside from my musical life, I have worked as a primary school teacher's aide, in the deli supply business back home, and currently as an editorial assistant of Berklee Press (where I sit around correcting people's grammar all day!). Some of my favorite reads are historical non-fiction, science fiction, and the occasional larger-than-life biography, and I am a proud supporter of the modern video game industry, when I have the time. I have fallen in love with life in the beautiful city of Boston, but I will soon be ready to move back down to NY, where the action is!
Finally, I was recently asked to define music, and I'd like to share bit of that here... Often, when I find myself going about business-as-usual, this monotony-breaking entity called “music” tends to creep up on me. That perking up of the ears, that rush of endorphins, and that gravitational pull that orients me away from my current goings-on are what music means to me, in its most basic form, and these things comprise the best way to define it. How do I still allow it to creep up on me so often? A better question would be “why,” as I have taken great care to preserve my ability to willingly appreciate music with the naivety of my childhood self. I keep that spirit close – somewhere it can be tapped into and with which it can be conversed. A childlike fascination with the formation of sounds and a maturely futile grasp on the scope of an art form that is intrinsic to our very existence are what characterize music, in my world. My fascination at discovering music led to a thirst for knowledge – knowledge which begot further fascination. So, I believe, is the natural progression of art.