Craig Abaya

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Craig Abaya
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Background information
Born San Francisco, California
Occupation(s)Filmmaker, Musician, Songwriter
Website abaya.com

Craig Abaya is an American multi-artist [1] who served as director of Digital Media & Entertainment Programs for San Francisco State University Extended Learning from 2000 to 2015.

Contents

Early life

Abaya is a native of San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood. [2] He became involved in music during childhood, taking up the piano at age six, the drums at age eleven, and the guitar at age twelve. He became involved in film and photography at the age of nine. [2]

At seventeen, Abaya enrolled at San Francisco State University where he proposed and earned a special major in multimedia, combining studies in film, audio, video, computers and electronics. [3]

Music and Recording Artist

Abaya is a singer and cites his main instruments as guitar, piano, and drums. He also took up recording from a young age, moving from 2- and 4-track analog tape to ADAT and eventually to DAWs (digital audio workstations). At 17, he formed his first professional band, the grunge/metal trio Apparition. At this time, he also wrote and performed music with the local church youth choir. After disbanding "Apparition," he founded the 4-piece group "The Basics" and later, "Abaya," in an attempt to merge his divergent musical interests. He has won songwriting awards in various genres, including 10 from Billboard Magazine. [2]

Educator

Abaya served as Director of Digital Media and Entertainment Departments and instructor at San Francisco State University College of Professional and Global Education from 2000-2014. [4]

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References

  1. Springer, Denize (December 20, 2004). "People on campus: digital dynamo Craig Abaya". San Francisco State University Campus Memo. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "Fil-Am is 10-time Billboard honoree". The Philippine Star. January 3, 2010. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  3. "Multimedia Studies: Faculty". San Francisco State University. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  4. "Digital Media Production - San Francisco State University Bulletin 2014 - 2015". www.sfsu.edu. Retrieved May 3, 2024.