Award-winning Music Composer & Orchestrator

Composing

GMA~SILVER MEDAL AWARD ~TRIBUTUM

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The Global Music Awards 2022

I am honored to announce that I have received  Global Music Award~ Silver Medal from the  for my orchestral work, Tribitum for Celtic Bagpipes and Orchestra which appears on the album Legends and Lights v.2. recorded by The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Navona Records, PARMA recording label.  The Global Music Awards selects winners every few months and I was awarded this honor in July 2022. I have recently heard that another composer on our album, Helen Mackinnon received a Silver Medal for her orchestral work on our album, Legends and Light v.2.
The Global Music Awards was “established in 2011, by Thomas Eugene Baker, Ph.D., the Global Music Awards is a well-known international music competition which celebrates independent musicians. Global Music Awards is widely recognized by industry insiders as giving legitimacy to highly talented artists. ‘Global Music Awards is recognized as music’s golden seal of approval.
 
Each year, Global Music Awards receives hundreds of entries from around the world. If you receive Global Music Award honors you will know that you music stands-out internationally, across cultures. You are being judged in an international competition, not just an American competition. Global Music Award participants are from Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands,  China, Colombia, Crete, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Ecuador, England, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Isle of Wright, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Guatemala, Romania, Russia, Sierra Leone, Scotland, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States and Venezuela.”

 

Score and Parts available at JWPepper HERE

 

Sonograma Magazine Article: The Compositional Evolution of Tributum~April 22, 2022

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The link below will take you to my newly published music article, The Compositional Evolution of Tributum for Sonagrama Magaizine based in Barcelona, Spain. I am honored to have been invited to share my insights into composing music and the journey taken to write Tributum. Sonograma reviewed our fabulous CD Legends and Light v2 and you can read that review below.

Here is the link to my article and also to many articles on the site. This is an International Magazine and composers from all over the world are invited to write. Read and share wherever you choose!

The Composositional Evolution of Tributum for Celtic Bagpipes and Orchestra by Nan Avant

Sonograma Magazine~” a magazine of musical thought and cultural diffusion”  based in  Barcelona, Spain, reviews music from artists throughout the globe. The entire review of the album, including fabulous descriptions of each composer’s orchestral work, is in Catalan and I used Google translate.  Read the complete Album Review HERE

Legends and Light v.2 track 2 Tributum

“The composer Nan Avant, originally from the Pacific Northwest,
carries within her the great musical legacy of Peru. Tributum,
written for both Irish bagpipes and Scottish bagpipes (tuned at 440 Hz),
is a work of precious detail, in which the composer conveys to us the finesse
and tenderness of the skin of these heritage instruments.”    Carme Miro ~ Sonograma Magazine

The American Prize~ Semi-Finalist 2022

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I am pleased to announce that my orchestral work, Soundness of the Sea from the Quintet Suite, Sirens of the

Salish Sea, is a semi-finalist in the Composers Music For Orchestra category of The American Prize 2022.

The list includes many accomplished composers (the list below is only the first half  the semi-finalists) with their original orchestral works and this competition is very competitive indeed! I am extremely grateful to be on this list!

Updates later as to the finalist will be. The American Prize Website  and the complete list of semi-finalist:

Tributum~Celtic Bagpipes and Orchestra~The Royal Scottish National Orchestra

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Legends and Light v. 2 track 2 a Navona Record: Tributum for Celtic Bagpipes and Orchestra

Tributum Reviews

“It is difficult to describe in words the whole storm of emotions that this great work causes. Emotional wave, which practically hits you and drives into this epic, orchestral cycle. Beautiful, live and ideal for everyone who needs music!

-Nagamag.com

“The composer Nan Avant, originally from the Pacific Northwest,
carries within her the great musical legacy of Peru. Tributum,
written for both Irish bagpipes and Scottish bagpipes (tuned at 440 Hz),
is a work of precious detail, in which the composer conveys to us the finesse
and tenderness of the skin of these heritage instruments.”    Carme Miro-Sonograma Music Magazine

Recording Tributum  in 2021

This Navona Recording, Legends and Light v.2  with The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, conducted by Grammy winner David Watkin and the amazing piping of Ryan Murphy, (Manran Irish band, from Co. Cork, Ireland, Uilleann Pipes and Lorne MacDougall, Glasgow, Scotland ( How to Train Your Dragon) on the Great Highland Bagpipes is a landmark recording for Tributum. The  recording took place in March  2021. Originally scheduled to be recorded in 2020 and postponed. The RSNO recorded in the Royal Glasgow Concert Hall, Scotland and due to the travel restrictions in 2021, the PARMA recordings had a production teams both  on the East Coast in Boston and on site at the Glasgow Concert Hall and as the composer of Tributum I was in Seattle on the West Coast for the recording session. The recording session was seamless regardless of the several time zones and remote experience.  I could easily discuss details with the PARMA team,  who would convey to the the conductor, essentially in real time.  I feel so fortunate that the RSNO had started to record music again and that Ryan Murphy, Lorne MacDougall and David Watkin and the entire PARMA team  were all available for this recording in Glasgow.

Tributum has been performed throughout the US and premiered internationally with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Canadian Pipes and Drums under the direction of Lucas Waldin and originally premiered in Seattle with the NW Sinfonia Orchestra.

Score and Parts Available at J.W. Pepper

 

Bio:

Nan Avant, a native of the Pacific Northwest, was brought up in a peaceful pastoral setting amidst artists on her maternal side and the rich South American heritage of Peru on her father’s side. Music was constantly playing in the background of her early years. Symphonies, musicals, South American music, Tangos, and Peruvian waltzes all contributed to her love of music. At an early age, she began studying piano and continued through high school and college. At the age of 16, she and her sister lived with relatives in Lima, Peru while their parents embarked on an adventure, riding motorcycles from Seattle to the border of Panama and Columbia. Living internationally was life enriching and opened new vistas to her as a young person. Returning to the United States, she continued her piano studies and expanded her horizons by learning to play the balalaika, becoming a member of the Seattle Balalaika Orchestra. It was also during this time in her life that she began composing music for piano.. Avant reveived a BFA degree from California Institute of the Arts, and studied film scoring at  the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program  under the direction of two time Emmy Winner, Hummie Mann.

Avant has won awards for her music and is a four-time nominee in the Hollywood Music in Media Awards. Avant’s Tributum for Celtic Bagpipes and Orchestra won the 13th Annual Independent Music Vox Populi Award for Best Instrumental Song.

Avant’s music embraces thematic and rhythmic intentions often reflecting her Latin heritage, encompassing her passion for classical, jazz, world, and ethnic music. She has collaborated with indie filmmakers throughout the United States, creating soundtracks for documentary, feature, animation, and short films. She has been commissioned by Composers and Schools in Concert, and has composed music for Burmer Music Productions LLC for concert premieres with the Northwest Sinfonia Orchestra. Avant’s concert music has been performed internationally and throughout the United States, and her music can be heard on Navona Recordings and  CD compilations and digital platforms: Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon music. Avant resides in Seattle WA . Avant reveived a BFA degree from California Institute of the Arts, BFA degree and attended the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program  under the direction of two time Emmy Winner, Hummie Mann

Tributum for Celtic Bagpipes and Full Orchestra~

Score and Parts Available at J.W. Pepper

Tributum for Celtic Bagpipes and Chamber Orchestra~

Score and Parts Available at Sheet Music Plus