Composition

Biography

Panagiotis Peter Valsamis composes from a percussionist's perspective: rhythm as primary language, texture as structure, silence as architecture. His background as an improviser shapes how he thinks about formal structure — not as a container for musical ideas but as a product of them.

He currently scores silent films for Kino Lorber, including Wonder Dogs, Vitagraph Comedies, Sign of the Claw, The Bellhop, and The Haunted Rocker. Earlier concert works include original scores for choreographers Molissa Fenley (Wind Trails, Theater Artaud, San Francisco, 1999) and June Watanabe (Still Moving, Theater Artaud, 1999–2000).

He studied composition at Mills College under Alvin Curran and Pauline Oliveros, and studied electroacoustic composition at Concordia University in Montréal. His compositional language draws on West African polyrhythm, Balinese interlocking patterns, and electronic processing — tools developed through performance rather than transcription.

Trance Mission — the San Francisco Bay Area group with Beth Custer (clarinets) and Stephen Kent (didgeridoo) — occupied the intersection of world music, free jazz, and ambient composition, releasing records on City of Tribes and Zoë/Rounder. He joined the ensemble in 1997.