Tobias Deggans

About

Tobias J. E. Deggans (b. 2004) is a Florida-based conductor, composer, vocalist, and multi-disciplinary artist. Drawing inspiration from contemporary choral music and experimental indie esoterica in equal measure, Tobias makes music that is innovative, playful, and emotionally resonant. His compositional work is centered on intentional text setting that spotlights underrepresented perspectives within the choral tradition.

      In Tobias’ view, the most impactful works in any genre are those that are deceptively simple and unfailingly earnest. He values emotional honesty and performability in all aspects of his work, but above all, Tobias aims to facilitate the bald-faced joy that comes with making music.

      As a transgender man with his roots firmly planted in the American south, Tobias is committed to using his artistic opportunities and educational experience to foster healing, catharsis, and human connection—qualities he knows firsthand that choral music is uniquely equipped to offer.

      Tobias is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Music Education in Choral Music Education at Florida State University, under the guidance of Dr. Kevin Fenton and vocal tutelage of Dr. Jeffery Springer. He is a member of and frequent arranger for Florida State’s premiere Tenor-bass A Cappella ensemble, Reverb, as well as Florida State’s premiere undergraduate touring choir, the University Singers, under the direction of Dr. Kevin Fenton. He has premiered works with the Collegians, Reverb A Cappella, and Isiah Maxey during his time at Florida State. He is an active member of the Collegiate Choral Composition Community.

      Tobias is currently a member of the FSU College of Music’s Undergraduate Board of Advisors. He is also a member Florida State’s American Choral Director’s Association chapter, Who won ACDA’s National Student Chapter Award during his 2-year tenure as Treasurer.

• released

Holy! Holy! Holy! - SATB w/ Piano, 3'.
  Text by Allen Ginsberg, Tobias Deggans.    Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy / is / The tongue / The typewriter / the poem / the hideous human / Holy / in / the / junk & / Holy / in / tears.This piece began as a blackout poem using text from Allen Ginsberg's Footnote to Howl, from Howl and Other Poems, done, ironically, in a fit of pique surrounding the state of the world as it is. I knew it was something I wanted to set as soon as I finished it, but I held onto it for a few months afterwards— never quite finding the musical language for what I wanted to convey.
That said, Holy! Holy! Holy! Was worth the frustration; now I find it incredibly effective in its assertion that everything and everyone is sacrosanct. Although I’m not the most religious person, I love the idea that we are all made in the image of God. The Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. The venerated art and the hideous human, all. Grace, Hope, Holiness— that something is known by many names and it can be found in every dark corner of the world and of the human mind, if you know where to look.

Monotony - TTBB w/ Tenor solo or small group, unaccompanied, 4'.
  Text by Langston Hughes.    Today like yesterday / Tomorrow like today; / The drip, drip drip / Of monotony / Is wearing my life away; / Today like yesterday / Today like today.Monotony, written by Langston Hughes, is a very short poem, which is not to say it isn’t impactful. When I originally happened upon it, practically everything about it struck me someplace resonant: the symmetry of it, the prosidy, the limping, staccato lines— but the imagery of water erosion to describe Hughes’ life was what I lingered on most. I wanted to capture the slow drag of late stage capitalism in setting Monotony, but also the playful and unpredictable nature of the rain. This piece is a slow trudge to the next dawn, in all the best ways, and in singing it, I hope you, too, are imagining Sisyphus happy.

[the cry of the cicada] - TTBB w/ Tenor solo and Piano, 3'.
  Text by Matsuo Bashō.
  Premiered Apr. 3, 2025 by the Collegians at FSU, Conducted by Dr. Kevin Fenton    the cry of the cicada / gives us no sign / that presently it will die.This piece is incredibly dear to me, and speaks to an issue I observe, I think, uniquely as a trans man involved in the choral art. [the cry of the cicada] is at its core a meditation on the gendered expectations we enforce via repertoire selection, especially for "male" choirs. In re-contextualizing Matsuo Bashō's haiku— originally discussing the fleeting beauty of nature— I aimed instead to highlight the effects of gender roles on the emotional well-being of men (and those society expects masculinity of). Tenor and Bass voice parts are sometimes deemed too masculine for emotional vulnerability, and this is reflected in the programming options for these voices. In transitioning from a Soprano to a Tenor in the choral setting, I noticed a thematic gulf between like-voice ensembles that, eventually, inspired [the cry of the cicada].

So Saith the Mother of Exiles - SATB, unaccompanied, 4'51".
  Text by Emma Lazarus.
  Premiered Nov. 3, 2024 at FSU, Conducted by Isiah Maxey    Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand / A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame / Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name / Mother of Exiles.This piece is many things. A solemn meditation, a fervent plea. In my eyes, it is mostly a sardonic admonishment. In re-contextualizing and repeating selections from Emma Lazarus' The New Colossus, So Saith the Mother of Exiles invites the listener to question if we, as a country, live up to the ideals enshrined on one of our most iconic monuments. In the poem, this "Mother of Exiles" asks for the tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to break free. But do we receive them with open arms? Are we the givers of asylum, or the oldheads with "storied pomp"?
This piece was premiered in a special concert meditating on Dr. Joy James’ concept of the captive maternal— in her words, “one who is tied to the state’s violence through their non-transferable agency they have to care for another” (https://sites.williams.edu/jjames/captive-maternals/). It is dedicated to all those who feel the inexorable weight of that agency, that fatigue of caring, and the further ache that comes when others don’t.

Take Me Away Again (Peniscoladaville) - Multimedia Graphic Score, variable instrumentation, variable length.
    Premiered at Florida State University by Omnimusica / Noise Music Ensemble

Stand Up Now, Arr. Sean Barnette (ASCAP) - Lyricist
    available from Santa Barbara Music Publishing Co.

Upcoming

Studio Album Falling with FSU's Reverb A Cappella (Release TBA):
      Featured Soloist: Love on the Brain (Rihanna), Pink + White (Frank Ocean)      Arranger: Lover, You Should've Come Over (Jeff Buckley)

True Love Waits - SATB or TTBB unaccompanied. Originally Performed and Written by Radiohead.

Act 3, Scene 2 (He Was My Friend)

Fake Plastic Trees (Radiohead Cover)

A Quick One Before The Eternal Worm Devours The Microphone (Have A Nice Life Cover)

• Take Me Away Again

commissioned
work

If you've seen anything you like and you'd like something done specifically for you, contact me! I'm always stoked to actualize something for you :)

I work pretty fast and loose with rates-- it's a sliding scale depending on turnaround, medium, complexity, and any special financial circumstances on your part.

I'm happy to do commissioned work in any of the mediums showcased here: arrangement, composition, lyrics, poetry, and mixed media collage are all fair game.