Sergi Casanelles is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Screen Scoring program of the Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions at NYU Steinhardt. He holds a PhD and an MM in Music Composition: Screen Scoring from NYU, and a Bachelor's in Composition (EsMUC, Barcelona), Piano (Conservatory of Liceu, Barcelona), and Computer Science (UPC, Barcelona).
His research approach combines analysis of the praxis with theoretical models, focusing on the intersection between philosophy, technology, screen music aesthetics, and film language. His book, “The Hyperorchestra: Screen Music and Virtual Ensembles” (Palgrave, 2024), presents a comprehensive approach to his theory of the Hyperorchestra and its impact on contemporary screen music aesthetics. Other publications include book chapters, such as "Mixing as a Hyperorchestration Tool" in the Palgrave Handbook of Sound Design and Music in Screen Media: Integrated Soundtracks (2016), and the forthcoming "Atmospheres, Synths, and Spectral Transformations in Scores for TV" in the Oxford Handbook for Music and Television. As a composer and orchestrator, he has written works for piano, chamber ensembles, orchestra, electronics, and screen music.
He has won composition competitions such as the III Orchestral Composition Competition Evaristo Fernández Blanco. He was also the recipient of the La Caixa Fellowship Award for International Graduate Studies, the most prestigious award in Spain to pursue graduate studies in the US. Dr. Casanelles served as the Program Manager of the Screen Scoring Program at NYU, as well as an adjunct faculty member. Before that, he worked back in his hometown of Barcelona as a composer, manager of a music ensemble, and computer programmer at Justinmind.
Currently teaching:
MPATC-UE 1049 / MPATC-GE 2049 - Contemporary Scoring
MPATC-UE 1248 - Composing for film and multimedia
MPATC-UE 1247 - Scoring Foundations: Harmony and Narrative
MPATC-GE 2043 Graduate Scoring Foundations
Courses Taught at NYU:
MPATC-UE 1500 - Film music: Historical and Aesthetic Perspectives
MPATC-GE 2550 Screen Music: History, Analysis, and Aesthetics
MPATC-UE 1021/ 2321 Private music composition lessons
MPATC-UE 1192 Music Composition Undergraduate Capstone
MPATC-GE 2024 Seminar in Composition: Advanced Scoring Toolkit
Selected Publications
[Forthcoming] "Atmospheres, Synths, and Spectral Transformations in Scores for TV." In The Oxford Handbook of Music and Television (OHMTV), edited by James Deaville, Jessica Getman, and Ron Rodman. Oxford University Press.
The Hyperorchestra: Screen Music and Virtual Musical Ensembles (2024). Palgrave MacMillan.
Mixing as a Hyperorchestration tool (2016). Palgrave Handbook of Sound Design and Music in Screen Media: Integrated Soundtracks (eds) Liz Greene & Danijela Kulezic-Wilson, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.
Ph.D. Thesis: The Hyperorchestra: A Study of a Virtual Ensemble in Film Music that Transcends Reality (2015)
Conference presentations
The Hero’s Journey, the Legato, and the Performer Collaborator: examining the role of solo performers in Hans Zimmer’s scores. Music and the Moving Image, New York, June 2025.
Virtual Instruments, Interfaces, and the distributed role of music creation in Screen Music. Music and the Moving Image Conference (MaMI), May 2024.
The horror within: using the diegetic voice as the Seed for the Score for Men (2022). Music and the Moving Image Conference (MaMI), May 2023.
Spectral transformations and Synthesizers: Examining Mac Quayle’s music for Mr. Robot (2015-19). Scoring Peak TV Conference, July 2022.
When the Dialog is just a transaction: The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) and the integrated Soundtrack . Music and the Moving Image Conference (MaMI) June 2022.
Scoring Determinism: the score for Garland’s Devs (2020). Music and the Moving Image Conference (MaMI) June 2021.
Spectral transformation in drones as a harmonic device in Mr. Robot’s score. Music and the Moving Image Conference (MaMI) June 2020.
Unfolding complex movie worlds: the score for Annihilation (2018). Music and the Moving Image Conference (MaMI) June 2019.
Deciphering Timbre: a framework for analyzing contemporary screen music. Music and the Moving Image Conference (MaMI) June 2017.
The Organ in Interstellar's Soundtrack: a case study for Analyzing the Role of Timbre in Contemporary screen music. Music and the Moving Image Conference 2016
Music in the Post-Narrative Film. Music and the Moving Image Conference 2015
Hyperorchestra, Hyperreality, and Inception. CUNY GS Conference 2014, Music and the Moving Image Conference 2014.
Beyond the Diegesis. Music and the Moving Image Conference 2013