Award-winning Music Composer & Orchestrator

Music by Nan Avant

Positively Haiku 17 Affirmations!

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New Book Release Sept. 12, 2023

I’ve been working with an amazing poet, Dr. Frank Clark, MD who has written a Children’s book titled: Positively Haiku, Illustrated Affirmations in 17 Syllables.  Now available on AMAZON!

Discover, read, listen and share  this beautiful book of poetry by Frank Clark MD  with magical illustrations by Ukranian artist Daria Ponomarenko. You will feel inspired with these positive affirmations during your day while listening to music I composed for this very unique experience. Inside your new book ( hard copies only) you will find a QR Code that takes you to the original soundtrack, Positively Positive Music by Nan Avant

Buy your book Here.

Frank Clark, MD poet with Ukraine artist, Daria Ponomarenko.

Positively Positive Music by Nan Avant

 

Dimensions 5 New PARMA Digital Release!

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PARMA and Navona Recordings have created  another spectacular recording with  our latest album, Dimensions 5, digital release out today, July 28, 2023!  These are orchestral  works by 6 contemporary composers and one very famous Italian composer Mascagni. All works are original and I am super excited to share this album.

Stream on your favorite streaming platform:

Spotify, Deezer,Apple, Amazon

or you can purchase a downloadable link on my Bandcamp page ( you will need to sign in and create an account)

2022 Global Music Award Silver Medal Award

Outstanding Achievment: *Rememoramini – Tango for Bandoneon, Piano and Strings composition and original score by Nan Avant.

Rememoramini~ (pronounced as: Air-eh-may-moor-uh-meany)  is the Latin term for “call to mind or remember”. was originally recorded as a sextext in Seattle at Studio X, a Burmer Productions LLC in 2020.   I wanted to have a recording available for String Orchestra and was fortunate to have Rememoramini recorded in Zagreb, Croatia this past winter, 2023.  The soloists were outstanding musicians, Charlene Farrogia, piano  and Franko Bozac, bandoneon with Miran Vaupotic conducting the Zagreb Festival Orchestra. I loved being at this recording session in Zagreb and experiencing the music and Zagreb!

 

If you have a CD player and would like to purchase a CD of Dimensions 5, send me an email:
njavant@gmail.com

2023 Global Music Award!

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The Global Music Awards 2023

I am honored to announce that I have received  Global Music Award~ Silver Medal from the  for my orchestral work, Sirens of the Salish Sea 1. Soundness of the Sea for Violin and Orchestra  recorded by The London Symphony Orchestra on  Navona Records, PARMA recording label which appears on the album Symphonic Chronicles V.1 released April 28, 2023.
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.
"...the evocative Sirens of the Salish Sea, are truly inspired and capable of 
imprinting clear images and sensations in our mind." ... Read more

"In love with natural landscapes, Avant exhibits her symphonic lyricism reaching 
grandeur and emotion, two qualities of her music.” Read more

Review by Sonograma Mag. May 29, 2023

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“.in the symphonic work Sirens of the Salish Sea: I. Soundness of the Sea (‘Sirenes del mar dels Salish: I. La solidesa del mar’), for violin and orchestra, the composer Nan Avant — about whom we have published a magnificent article— seeks to reflect the most difficult moments of the year 2020 through music and the essence of the sea. In love with natural landscapes, Avant exhibits her symphonic lyricism reaching grandeur and emotion, two qualities of her music.”

Carme Miró, Sonograma Magazine

May 29, 2023

 

 

 

I am so thankful for this outstanding review of our latest album, Symphonic Chronicles V.1. The original language is in Catalan and I used Google translate.

Títol: Symphonic Chronicles Vol. 1
Autors: Deborah Kavasch, Steve Law, John Wineglass, Barbara Jazwinski, Nan Avant, Simon Andrews
Intèrprets: Joseph Havlat, piano; Yumi Hwang-Williams, violí
London Symphony Orchestra
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Direcció: Miran Vaupotić, David Watkin
Segell discogràfic: Navona Records

Complete Review of Symphonic Chronicles v.1

“The London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Miran Vaupotić, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, conducted by David Watkin, have come together and combined experiences to perform this new album, the first volume of the Symphonic Chronicles (‘Chronicles symphonic’), with works by contemporary composers of a wide variety of styles according to origin and influences. A good example of this is Steve Law’s Piano Concerto, which is inspired by Gershwin, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev, and at the same time conveys influences from jazz, pop and minimalism. In this sense, the Australian pianist Joseph Havlat reinforces these thematic connections, of great lyricism, and accentuates the rhythmic intensity of the jazz elements.
Desert Storm, by Deborah Kavasch, a composer specializing in extended vocal techniques, is a martial work (heavy on brass and percussion) written to celebrate the American victory in the war’s Operation Desert Storm of the Persian Gulf.
John Wineglass composed #elijah for solo violin and orchestra, a piece to honor a young African-American violinist who died in a violent confrontation with police in 2019. Yumi Hwang’s violin solos- Williams unfold in the middle of intense percussion that dramatizes the two movements, entitled “Tragic Innocence” and “Transcendence”.
Fantasy on Jazz (‘Fantasia en jazz’), by the composer Barbara Jazwinski, is a tribute to the music of New Orleans and the clarinet, which unfolds very wide and free melodic solos.
On the other hand, in the symphonic work Sirens of the Salish Sea: I. Soundness of the Sea (‘Sirenes del mar dels Salish: I. La solidesa del mar’), for violin and orchestra, the composer Nan Avant — about whom we have published a magnificent article— seeks to reflect the most difficult moments of the year 2020 through music and the essence of the sea. In love with natural landscapes, Avant exhibits her symphonic lyricism reaching grandeur and emotion, two qualities of her music.
The album ends with the “Interlude no. 3″ from the opera The Scars on his Back (‘The Scars on his Back’), by Simon Andrews, dedicated to the revolt that took place in Santa Fe in 1680 under the leadership of a legendary fighter named Po’ pay, who managed to bring down Spanish rule in New Mexico for twelve years. This interlude is notable for a large percussion section and complex textures for full orchestra.
The first volume of Symphonic Chronicles integrates all six compositions from a plural and organic perspective.”

Carme Miró, Sonograma Magazine

Here is the original review in Catalan. Symphonic Chronicles V.1

Symphonic Chronicles: Digital Release: London Symphony Orchestra

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SYMPHONIC CHRONICLES: Digital Release Now Available

London Symphony Orchestra” ‘Soundness of the Sea‘ is composed for violin solo and orchestra and represents story telling about the essence of nature. The form is clear, orchestration is really pure, not massive, like holding the feather in your palms and that feather goes with the wind and flies above the sea.” Miran Vaupotić conductor.

Sirens of the Salish Sea Orchestral Suite~ movement #1. Soundness of the Sea for Violin and Orchestra performed by the London Symphony Orchestra appears on the album Symphonic Chronicles with 5 international composers. Listen to the album on

Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and all digital platforms.

SYMPHONIC CHRONICLES: Release date 4.28.23

1.Deborah Kavasch~Desert Storm
2. Steve Law~Piano Concerto
3. John Wineglass~#elijah for Solo Violin and Orchestra
4. Barbara Jazwinski ~Fantasy on Jazz
5. Nan Avant~Sirens of the Salish Sea: I. Soundness of the Sea for Violin and Orchestra ( The American Prize~Finalist 2022)
6. Simon Andrews~Interlude No. 3 from “The Scars On His Back”

London Symphony Orchestra | Miran Vaupotić conductor
Royal Scottish National Orchestra | David Watkin conductor

Navona Records Link for listening to the complete works of Symphonic Chronicles Album.

YouTube player

London Symphony Orchestra~ Soundness of the Sea for Violin and Orchestra 04.28.23

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” ‘Soundness of the Sea’ is composed for violin solo and orchestra and represents story telling about the essence of nature. The form is clear, orchestration is really pure, not massive, like holding the feather in your palms and that feather goes with the wind and flies above the sea.” Miran Vaupotić conductor.

Sirens of the Salish Sea Orchestral Suite~ movement #1. Soundness of the Sea for Violin and Orchestra performed by the London Symphony Orchestra

SYMPHONIC CHRONICLES: Release date 4.28.23

Soundness of the Sea for Violin and Orchestra from the Orchestral Suite, Sirens of the Salish Sea, appears on this amazing album with 5 international composers.

1.Deborah Kavasch~Desert Storm
2. Steve Law~Piano Concerto
3. John Wineglass~#elijah for Solo Violin and Orchestra
4. Barbara Jazwinski ~Fantasy on Jazz
5. Nan Avant~Sirens of the Salish Sea: I. Soundness of the Sea for Violin and Orchestra ( The American Prize~Finalist 2022)
6. Simon Andrews~Interlude No. 3 from “The Scars On His Back”

London Symphony Orchestra | Miran Vaupotić conductor
Royal Scottish National Orchestra | David Watkin conductor

Navona Records Link for listening to the complete works of Symphonic Chronicles Album. All links on Navona Records will become active 4.28.23

YouTube player

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

 

The American Prize 2022~Finalist!

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I am delighted to announce that I am a finalist in The American Prize 2022  music competition. My orchestral work, Soundness of the Sea for Violin and Orchestra, is among the  17 finalist in the Orchestral Division.  The competition receives submission from hundreds of composers throughout the United States and I am indeed ecstatic to be on this list! For complete list to this link  Here

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David Volosin Katz, founder and chief judge, is honored to announce 2022 FINALIST composers of orchestra music in the professional division.  Congratulations! (The professional division finalists were announced on Monday, April 25, 2022)

As the contests unfold, runners-up and winners will be selected from this list. To know the exact date when finalists will be announced, please like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter #AmericanPrize, where that information will be published first.

 

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts is the nation’s most comprehensive series of contests in the performing arts. The American Prize is unique in scope and structure, designed to recognize and reward the best performing artists, directors, ensembles and composers in the United States at professional, college/university, community and high school levels, based on submitted recordings. Now in its twelfth year, The American Prize was founded in 2010 and is awarded annually in many areas of the performing arts. Thousands of artists from all fifty states have derived benefit from their participation in the contests of The American Prize, representing literally hundreds of communities and arts organizations across the nation.  Information about the 2022-23 season of contests has been updated and applications are now being accepted. (http://theamericanprize.org)

Soundness of the Sea for Violin and Orchestra is the first movement from the Quintet Suite~Sirens of the Salish Sea. I am in the process of orchestrating the entire work and will announce when complete. The Score and Parts for Soundness of the Sea are available at JWPepper HERE

 

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