At First Sight by Brett Abigaña

At First Sight by Brett Abigaña

Instrumentation: Wind Band
Grade Level: 3.5

At First Sight is written for and dedicated to the Winter Park High School Wind Symphony and their conductor, Mr. Michael Clemente. When we first started talking about the piece, the students asked for something lyrical and beautiful, so their musicality would be on full display. We also talked a lot about trust. As I sat down to write, I thought a lot about how trust is created for the first time, and I fixated on the very first trusting experience in our lives: that of a newborn’s trust and love of a parent. The piece opens with a baby’s eyes opening for the first time. Everything is vague and blurry, and while things may make sense, there is no concept of why they make sense. As the piece continues and the baby sees their parent for the first time, an immediate bond is formed, which informs how the child experiences their surroundings and how we, in turn, experience the chords and melodic fragments in the music, and the sounds get clearer and more distinct. On a personal note, a short piccolo solo is a dictation of my daughter’s voice crying for the first time, a sound firmly etched into my brain (she’s 11 now, and would be horribly embarrassed that I wrote this in a Carnegie Hall program note). The primary melody of the piece is only heard at the end, having informed all of the music so far, so that by the time you hear it for the first time, it’s already somewhat familiar and comforting.

NYSSF23 premiere by Winter Park High School Wind Symphony with Michael Clemente, Director

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