I write today to say thanks to Edwin P. Arnold. “Doc” will retire from Grove City College at the end of this school year after 38 years of service. There are many great educators who were mentored before me by Dr. Arnold, and there were many after me at Grove City College. We all owe him gratitude for providing us with opportunities to find out just what we could become. We all have a different story of what he did for us, and it...

Amid now 186 pages and just shy of 45,000 words I take a minute to revisit one of my favorite hashtags on Twitter - #grindneverstops  – and apply that to a lifestyle in music education. Notice the difference – I said lifestyle, not a job. The one thing I have tried to impress upon assistant directors with whom I have worked and student teachers that I have mentored is that our vocation is a lifestyle. We keep odd hours. We go back into...

Last night, I had the good fortune of hosting 47 alumni of the Band Program at Mercer during our Homecoming Football Game. It was a great evening of music, friends, laughter, and memories that added to the festivities of the entire Mercer school community. One of my current students got to conduct his dad on a song, two of the current band front advisers performed alongside their friends from the past and current students, and new connections...

Dream Chaser is a spirited concert opener for high school band that captures the energy and emotion of those who choose to follow their dreams in any walk of life. The buoyant melodies of the opening measures later give way to a powerful and expressive section with brief solo opportunities for flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, and baritone. The piece concludes with both main themes returning in an exciting, flourishing,...

I am pleased to announce that “Never a Losing Season” was included in the NBA 2012 Spring Journal. There are a number of great articles in the issue, and my article can be found on page 19. It is an honor to be able to share these insights with colleagues across a larger circle, and I am hopeful that some of those insights can be put to good use with students and directors over the course of the next year.  I hope that it is helpful...

Thanks to a number of Web 2.0 integrations, I have started a Facebook page for The Wind Band Music of Travis J. Weller. It’s nice to be able to use a successful social media platform to assist with this aspect of being an advocate, composer, conductor, and educator. I plan on continue using the site here for musings about music education, new compositions, advocacy, leadership, and life in music. Facebook provides a way to get this and...