NASSER Bilal

Bilal Nasser is a guitarist and composer from Windsor, Ontario. He began studying classical guitar at the age of 10 with Mike McNamara, and immediately displayed an inclination towards contemporary classical and avant-garde repertoire. His obsession with the avant-garde would define his sound-world to the present day. In his teenage years he was heavily influenced by the social and philosophical themes expressed by hardcore punk bands. While he did not become a punk musician, he shares the same aesthetic values he learned through punk culture in his compositional output; that music does not exist in a vacuum. All music is a reflection of the material world it is heard in. Rather than trying to make music for its own sake, Bilal seeks to use his guitar as a soap box upon which he can stand.

While at first he was accepted into university for global political studies, Bilal instead chose to pursue his passion for contemporary classical music. He moved to Toronto in 2016 to study in the departments of music and history at York University, where he joined the studio of William Beauvais. At the same time he became involved in student activism, on several occasions speaking at campus events about climate change and Palestinian solidarity. In his undergrad he initially focused on classical guitar, but was encouraged by his teacher to learn through his own creativity. It was here where he discovered his love for composition. Throughout the rest of his degree Bilal composed his own pieces and was involved in a plethora of performances, including with the Balkan Ensemble, New Music Ensemble, Guitar Ensemble, at World Music Showcases, and notably with the York University Symphony Orchestra as the only guitarist to ever win the school’s concerto competition.

Bilal is currently based in Windsor, Ontario where he is focusing on his passion for composition and recording his debut album of original music for classical guitar and electronics. His composition, “...From Ancient Wounds”, won first place in the 2020 Ottawa Guitar Society Composition Competition, marking the inauguration of his career as a composer. His current priority is gaining experience composing and performing his music live before he continues his formal education in a graduate program.

His work can be found on instagram and bandcamp

Windsor, On.
March 2021