Abrazo is Spanish for “embrace”. The word is also very similar to the
name of our community, often called the Brazosport area, as the
Brazos river runs into the nearby Gulf of Mexico. The mission of
Abrazo is to foster an appreciation and involvement of contemporary
music through performance and educational outreach programs in
the Brazosport community with local and visiting artists.
Since our inception in 2000, Abrazo has hosted over twenty events in
the greater Brazosport area, a small, culturally-minded and
supportive community located an hour directly south of Houston and
near the Gulf of Mexico. The Brazosport community has a rich
musical heritage, interest, and enthusiasm for creative music.
In conjunction with a performance, each artist presents a workshop
or series of workshops engaging the local community and music
students, ranging in age and experience from beginning to
professional. Formats of the workshops vary in approach,
depending on the size and makeup of the groups involved. Some
artists choose to teach music by ear to the participants and
emphasize an improvisational “hands on” interaction, while others
present distinct compositional concepts with examples requiring more
explanation, verbalization, and written material. Participants in the
workshops are always interested and excited to hear about the
history, background, and lives of the musicians. In some concerts,
workshop participants perform with the artists.
about abrazo