Travis J. Weller

I am pleased to announce that a live recording of Jazz Kings is now up at Myspace.  My thanks to the GCC Wind Ensemble for doing some great work on very short notice!  Looking forward to seeing many of you in Chicago next month amongst clinics and concerts galore – and especially a clinic given by Dr. Joseph M. Pisano (be there!).

I am pleased to announce that two new pieces are available for preview at FJH Music.  The first is a piece for middle school/junior high band entitled “Tales of A Medieval Warrior”.  It is a three movement work full of brash fanfares, opportunities for small chamber groups within the ensemble, and a thundering conclusion portraying a joust!  The second piece is a transcription of a piece I originally wrote for the River City Youth Brass Band.  “A Frontier Fought and A City Found” chronicles the final capture of “The Point” in Pittsburgh by British Forces during the Seven Years War.  On the FJH Site you are able to preview the score while listening to the recordings by The Washington Winds.  As always, thank you for your support of this music, and I hope it can a wonderful musical experience for directors, students, and audiences alike!

A great find tonight on Youtube.   I was fortunate enough to have Irish Jig for Young Feet performed at the 63rd Annual Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Decmeber by the Vandercook College Symphonic Band.  My thanks to Dr. Charles Menghini and Stacey Larson for programming this piece.  Stacey did a great job with the band, and it was a pleasure meeting her.  You can view the performance by clicking here.  Another great performance was given by the Florida State Summer Music Camp Wind Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Patrick Dunnigan of American Visions.  My thanks to Dr. Dunnigan for selecting the piece and sharing it with these students.  You can view the performance by clicking here. I am also pleased to learn that both Irish Jig for Young Feet and Pirates! were selected to the BandWorld Top 100 for 2009-10.

If you have a minute (or 7 if you are going to listen to Pirates!), bump on over to FJH and check the new recordings of Pirates! and Irish Jig For Young Feet.  Both songs are recorded by the Washington Winds, and you have the option of taking a look at the score page by page as you listen.

What a couple of weeks!!! It has been absolutely humbling to have so many performances of “American Visions” over the past few weeks – my sincere thanks to many friends and colleagues who made the piece a part of their spring concert.  My thanks to Drew Fennell and the River City Youth Brass Band for their world debut performance of “A Frontier Fought and A City Found” at the Spring Concert “A Pittsburgh Celebration” last Sunday evening.  It was an honor to write for such a great musician and conductor like Drew, and a group of outstanding musicians in the ensemble.