Brett Abigana

The Composer Speaks – Brett Abigana

A composer whose music I very much enjoyed at the WASBE 2009 Conference was Brett Abigana. I have programmed his evocative Sketches on Paintings no 2 and we have of course kept in touch about his latest works.

Brett writes:

Brett Abigana

Musically, I've been as busy as ever. You may remember me mentioning that my Symphony no. 1 - Omnes Gentes was going to be recorded by the US Navy Band and Sea Chanters chorus under the direction of CAPT Brian O. Walden on their CD Derivations. Well, the recording process is done and the CD is now available. In fact, I heard the piece for the first time yesterday afternoon, and I was absolutely speechless. I promise, you have never heard a wind band sound like this group. With the entire CD, the US Navy Band has raised the bar on what should be expected of a professional wind band, and I can't tell you how proud I am to have my music be part of that. My deepest thanks and admiration go out to CAPT Walden and all of the men and women in the band and chorus for their spectacular work on this album. For more information on Derivations, including information on how to acquire a copy, please visit the US Navy Band website: http://www.navyband.navy.mil/disc_derivations.shtml. As always, should you want more information about the piece, you can email me directly at brett@brettabigana.com.

On the large ensemble end of things, I'm hard at work on my latest piece for band, Daylight Passing which is being written for the Woodland High School Wind Ensemble under the direction of my father, Mr. John Abigana. The work actually has nothing to do with the passing of time, referring instead to the passing of the Daylight Southern Pacific 4449, a beautiful steam locomotive that used to run the coastal route from Portland, OR to Los Angeles, CA. I remember seeing it pass by many times as a child, and the piece attempts to capture the energy of a boy about to see the train for the first time. The piece will be premiered on April 30th at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.