“Working not only as a guitarist Nathan is also composing and we have enjoyed his work ‘Variations on a Haiku’ for Flute & Guitar” -Matthew McAllister (Agnew McAllister Duo)
“Nathan Bredeson is a brilliant guitarist and composer. I particularly love his arrangement of Chopin’s F minor Nocturne!” -John Gordon Armstrong, University of Ottawa
Nathan studied composition at the University of Ottawa with John Armstrong and Frederic Lacroix and has also worked with John Burge, from Queens University.
His compositional style draws from a variety of musical influences including the old masters, modern compositional techniques, and progressive rock and metal and has a particular interest in meter, atypical harmonic progressions, and modes of limited transposition. In his music it is common to hear a juxtaposition of moods; exciting rhythmic passages segue into placid, harmonic interludes, lyricism and barbarism are often mere measures apart. Meter changes and extended harmonies are commonplace, yet amid all the turbulence is a constant feeling of tonality as well as a focus on sonority and geometry. His pieces display a cleverness in craft that never gets in the way of enjoyment for the performer nor the audience.
Nathan’s works have enjoyed success in competition settings; his guitar duo Hommage à Paulo Bellinati won an honorable mention at the 2016 Miami International GuitArt Festival, where it was premiered by members of the Miami Guitar Trio, and his solo work Astral Projection was premiered by Daniel Ramjattan at the 2017 Guitar Alla Grande Festival in Ottawa after winning first prize in the 2016 Ottawa Guitar Society Composition Competition.
He is also an avid arranger and enjoys adapting famous works into idiomatic-sounding guitar arrangements. Among his arrangements is his immensely popular Nocturne Op. 55 No. 1 by Frederic Chopin, in which his exploitation of natural harmonics in the final arpeggio flourish creates a magical moment of resolution.
Nathan is available for commissions. To buy scores of his works, click here.
Solo Works:
- Étude No. 1 (2012)
- The Tale of Inspector Legrasse (2013)
- Étude No. 2 (2014)
- Variations on a Theme from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2016)
- Ruminations (2016)
- Astral Projection (2016): Winner of the 2016 Ottawa Guitar Society Composition Competition
- Etude in E Minor (2018)
- Sonata No. 1 in D Minor (in homage to Shostakovich) (2019)
Ensemble Works:
- Misunderstanding, (Based on a text by Irving Layton, Voice and Guitar, 2012)
- Homage à Paulo Bellinati (two guitars, 2013): Second prize winner of the 2016 Miami International Guitar Festival Composition Competition
- Variations on a Haiku (guitar and flute, 2014)
Arrangements:
- Frederick Chopin: Nocturne Op. 55 No. 1 (Solo Guitar, 2014)
- Dimitri Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2, 4th Movement (Guitar Quartet, 2015)
- John Williams: Selections from the Star Wars Suite (Guitar Sextet, 2015)
- Pink Floyd: Goodbye Blue Sky (Solo Guitar, 2016)
- Alexander Scriabin: Prelude Op. 11 No. 4 (Guitar and Cello, 2016)
- Hector the Hero (2017)
- Béla Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances (for guitar and violin) (2017)
- Claude Debussy: Rêverie (for guitar trio) (2017)
- Claude Debussy: Gollywog’s Cakewalk (for guitar trio) (2017)
- Angelo Badalamenti: Laura Palmer’s Theme, Twin Peaks (for guitar trio) (2017)
- Down by the Sally Gardens (for guitar and violin) (2018)
- Klaus Badelet / Hans Zimmer: Pirates of the Caribbean Suite (for guitar trio) (2019)
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