Award-winning Music Composer & Orchestrator
I am honored to share with you that Tributum for Celtic Bagpipes and Orchestra, performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra with Lorne MacDougall on Scottish Pipes and Ryan Murphy on Irish Pipes has received another accolade! This time from the International Music Competition, Clouzine based in London, UK. Many thanks to Clouzine for the recognition and award to Tributum! I was also interviewed for their online publication, Clouzine Magazine which showcases an eclectic array of music composers and musicians. The link will take you to an ” interactive magazine” where you can read the entire magazine. Tributum also aired on the Clouzine Radio M-XCLOUD online
Click on the Clouzine Magazine image below and read the ” interactive magazine”
Scroll to Page 6 to read Nan’s interview.
CLOUZINE RADIO– Tributum @30:59 listen to the March of Tributum performed by Lorne MacDougall on Great Highland Bagpipes.
Great News! Tributum for Celtic Bagpipes and Orchestra recorded by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra 2022 release, has been selected as a semi-finalist in the 2023 The American Prize in Composition, Pop/Light Music Division.
The American Prize will be announcing finalists in my division soon. You can learn more about this prestigious national competition here: www.theamericanprize.org or follow the news on The American Prize Facebook page.
Tributum appears on the album, Legends and Light v. 2 
Saturday, December 31
9:30am -1:0 pm (ET)
https://wprb.com/
Award winning composition, Tributum for Celtic Bagpipes and Orchestra performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra with Lorne MacDougall and Ryan Murphy on Pies, will be broadcast on WPRB 103.3FM, Princeton, as part of an annual Viva 21st Century marathon of 100 new works, presented by Marvin Rosen. link above. Tributum received a Silver Medal in the Global Music Awards, 2022. Tributum appears on PARMA Recordings, Navona Records album, Legends and Light v. 2 Many thanks to Marvin Rosen for airing
Tributum with this amazing line up of composer from the 21st Century!
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
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:
“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
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.
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’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
2022 Global Music Awards Silver Medal~I’m honored to have received a Silver Medal Award for Rememoramini, Tango ( Milonga) for Bandoneon, Piano and Strings