Nan Avant

I am super excited to announce that the Bijoux ( the Nebulae) is on the program with the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra – Bookend Concert

Sunday, May 19, 2024

A History of Bijoux ( the Nebulae) by Nan Avant

The following is my original post about my process in creating and composing Bijoux ( the Nebulae) orchestral score and video in 2015. Bijoux is available~ score and parts at J.W. Pepper and you can watch the original video of Bijoux c0-created  by Stephen Jablonsky and Nan Avant.  If your orchestra is interested in a live performance with sync to film, Bijoux the video is available without the original soundtrack. Please contact Nan for more information.

The origins and creating  of Bijoux (the Nebulae) 2015

This year (2015) has been one of the most inspiring and enriching experiences for me as a composer! Origins: Life and the Universe is the second concert production I have worked on with Burmer  Music LLC and Composition Lab, the first being the Celebrate World Music concert in 2013.

A little over a year ago, eight Seattle composers were invited to create an original composition and a short film about the Universe for the Origins: Life and the Universe concert a production of Burmer Music LLC and the Composition Lab.  My subject was the Nebulae.

The Nebulae: My subject was the Nebulae. I had to research this topic which included  one on one conversations with scientist Professor.Bruce Balick  from the University of Washington’s Dept of Astrobiology and Astronomy, reading articles on the Nebulae and  searching through hundreds of s images  from Hubble’s Space Telescope, NASA and ESO ( European Southern Observatory in Chile). The image here on the blog was one of those amazingly inspiring images that I found on NASA’s ” Astronomy Picture of the Day” of APOD. I searched for the photographer’s name and web site, contacted him,  in New Zealand, and aquired  this photo from Mike Mackinven. These images were a great inspiration to me in composing the music. They were colorful, vibrant, glimmering photos of the Nebulae and the impressed me as being like gems, gem stones.

Storyboard: After researching images, articles and discussing the Nebulae and the Universe with Prof. Balick, I started to create a story board for the film. My vision was to begin on Earth, the feeling of being home and looking out into the Universe and seeing the Milky Way. Traveling  towards the Northern Sky and the Orion Nebulae then heading South to the Southern Sky and the Carina Nebulae and finally returning to Earth. What I learned about the Nebulae from Prof. Balick and my research is that constant motion is  taking place in the Nebulae. Nebulae is dust, helium, hydrogen, ionized gasses constantly moving, stars are being born and stars are dying. There is continual  change, creation, motion and everything is evolving. My musical impression of the Nebulae was also evolving.

Composing the Music: After several weeks of going through hundreds of images and learning about the Nebulae, it was time to concentrate on the music. I always start composing by sitting down to the piano and improvising. I had so many inspiring images to consider as I was working through
musical ideas. The music became  star music and music floating through space. I had lots of ideas and I created many different motifs reflecting this idea if many patterns or designs of the Universe. . I decided began with  two main themes, the Orion Nebula and the Carina Nebula And because the Nebulae is constantly creating and in motion, I felt that having multiple themes, melodies or motifs represented my impression of the Nebulae. So I composed many themes, the two major themes in the Northern and Southern Skies and then several smaller themes throughout, the music is always evolving, changing moving. The Earth/Home motif is the only theme I return to, as in the film, we return to Home.

Orchestrating the Music: Orchestration takes a bit of time and it’s really an interesting process. I love seeing how the composition transforms from being one instrument  into this  all encompassing orchestral work. I included some unusual percussion instruments in the Orion Nebulae theme to portray the mechanism of motion and creation. These  are instruments of the Orchestral Percussion section but are not always used. I  have anvil, steel plates and bamboo sticks.  This really worked  and I look forward to the live performance with these instruments in the orchestra. During this time of orchestrating the music I took a few private lessons with musicians to learn more about their instruments. I had a lesson with a fabulous harpist, John Carrington, a lesson with two percussionists, Mathew Koernieroski and Gunnar Folsom and consultation with a trumpeter via facebook.

The Film:
Early on when I started creating the storyboard for the film, I decided  that I would  have a film editor do the edit and add animation to the  film. I collaborated with a very  talented filmmaker Stephen Jablonsky.    We had collaborated a few years ago on a documentary and I liked his work. I met with him a few times to discuss the ideas of the storyboard  and in July we  met at his work studio and designed the film.  Stephen  edited and added animation  and he also  captured exactly what I had imagined for the Earth sequence, the feeling of home. He filmed live action footage that is magnificent. The film was completed in early August and we will have a DVD and CD available by the concert date in November.

The Journey:I can’t put it into words how exciting this has been for me this year, it has been an enriching experience.  From learning about the Universe with  Professor Balick searching through hundreds of  images of the Nebulae, collaborating with a filmmaker to design a film and finally to compose and orchestrate music about the Universe. I ventured into new vistas of music and discovered  new orchestral techniques that I had never attempted. Composing Bijoux was like exploring a new musical universe. I am very grateful for this opportunity to be one of the composers of Origins; Life and the Universe, the astrobioconcert.

Bijoux? Why, you may ask, did I choose the title Bijoux? As I was looking through the vast array of stunning, breathtaking images of the Nebulae and composing rich, textured music as a musical impression of the Nebulae, I wanted to find a word, just one word that could describe this awesome feeling I had during these months of creativity. I researched for a word in various languages and found Bijoux, which is French for Jewels.

Articles and Press on Origins: Life and the Universe

University of Washington: College of Arts and Sciences: Sept. Newsletter

Avant Music News

 Leading up to the concert are three  lectures presented by UW scientists and composers from the Origins: Life and the Universe concert. Lectures  take place at the  Museum of Flight on Oct 1 and Oct 17 and the Pacific Science Center  on Oct 20.

YOUTUBE VIDEO OF BIJOUX THE NEBULAE

Click image for Score and Parts at JW Pepper