Hi, my name is Abigail. I am a Christian musician based in Brisbane, Australia. I grew up in Zealand to a NZ-born Dutch father and Filipino mother. My family/church life was full of singing and sight-reading from hymn books, and my first ‘special item’ at church was singing a Sunday School chorus at the age of 3. I started learning piano at the age of 5, and violin at 6, and progressed through ABRSM grade books and exams. I started teaching piano for the first time at the age of 15 and moved to Sydney, Australia at the age of 16. I was privileged to attend MLC School, acclaimed for music, for the last 2 years of high school. I continued to teach quite a number of piano, violin, flute, and cello students during university, and played violin as the assistant concertmaster of the Sydney University Symphony Orchestra for 2 years. I have attained my AMEB A.MusA and L.MusA in piano, and am working towards my A.MusA in violin.
I graduated with a Bachelor of Music (Music Education) with a principal study in piano from the Sydney Conservatorium of music in 2016. I have since taught Primary School classroom music at two large private Anglican schools in Sydney, with most of my time in the inner west. There I conducted and accompanied children’s choirs, developed my Junior String Orchestra in number and skill, prepared students for performances and musicals, and accompanied numerous chapels and assemblies.
I attended a church in Western Sydney with my parents, and created many transcriptions and arrangements for church vocal and instrumental ensembles. It helped me to develop aural skills and proficiency in notation and transcription, using Sibelius. I have played piano at church since the age of 10, and have also played a variety of instruments as needed in church orchestras (violin, flute, French horn, cello). I have played at quite a number of weddings, mostly for church members and have arranged songs for various instrumentations. I have a passion for creating hymn arrangements for piano solo and various ensembles. God has blessed me with an excellent ear, the ability to play multiple instruments, compose, arrange, improvise, accompany, conduct, and teach music.
Sadly, I gave up teaching in the classroom at the end of 2021 due to suffering from TSW (topical steroid withdrawal) and health issues for over two years prior. In 2022, I stayed at home to focus on recovery, and God graciously provided me with private piano and violin students to use up some of my time. In the second half of 2022, I worked part-time teaching Kindergarten to Year 4 classroom music and taught strings students at a small Independent Baptist school in Southwest Sydney. In January 2023, my husband and I moved interstate to Queensland and we currently attend Life Gate Baptist Church. I am now blessed with a lovely job as school accompanist at a private girls’ school in Brisbane. In my role, I also teach private piano lessons and have opportunity to conduct, which I am enjoying very much.
My husband William and I have been married for 5 years and are expecting our first child in early 2024.
My website will mostly focus on sacred music, but will also have a smaller educational section.
I am passionate about giving God my service with a high standard of expertise, quality and craftmanship, as I believe that God deserves our best effort. I strive to write and arrange music of high calibre that communicates:
· Glory to God
· the lyrics through careful musical choices (word painting)
· God’s holiness
· Humility and reverential worship
· Sanctification (set apart)
If you've read all the way to the bottom of this page, thank you! I hope to be a blessing and I hope you enjoy my music.
If you wish to get in contact with me if you would like to request/commission a particular arrangement, transcription, or to find out my availability for live performance or accompaniment, please fill out the form in the 'Contact Me' section of the website.