Copyright © 2026 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
I seldom post anything personal, or about my family. Here is one of the rare exceptions. This post has to do with a young composer, Aaron Barrett, who just happens to be my son. For quite some time he has been writing music, musical compositions that range from symphonies to accordion concertos. Last fall, I used one of his works to illustrate a short video about Sosman & Landis.
For Christmas, Aaron gifted each family member a musical composition. In most cases, it was not only a gift, but also an experience. For his maternal grandmother, he wrote an accordion duet that they could play together. For his sister, he wrote a song that she could sing based on her favorite poem by Maya Angelou – And Still I Rise. We were each gifted something very personal, something that reflected who we are and what we love.
For his maternal grandfather, Aaron composed Overture to the West, inspired by western film scores. To make it an “experience” I offered to illustrated the overture with photographs from our last trip west.
I was gifted Sonata No. 1, Blank Canvases. Aaron envisioned me painting while he composed it. In the past few weeks, I illustrated the song with my own artworks to show the painting process. I have shared all three videos to YouTube and I am compelled to share the links now. Here they are:
Enjoy.