Travis J. Weller » Compositions

Yankee Overture and Romance for Winds recordings

tjweller — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 14:49:22 +0000

Two new works are now up on my compositions page. Yankee Overture, recorded by the GCC Wind Ensemble, and Romance for Winds, recorded by the Westminster College Wind Ensemble are both under publication review. Yankee Overture is a rousing concert opener based upon the folk song “Yankee Doodle”. “Romance for Winds” is a bit of a departure from some of my other songs stylistically, but pretty true to my orchestration tendencies. It is dedicated to my wife Beth, who without her love, support, and care, I could never have arrived at this point in my life. My thanks also to Dr. Arnold at GCC and Dr. Greig at Westminster – I appreciate their willingness to read and record this music with their students and making the recordings available. Enjoy!

New music at FJH!

tjweller — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:45:11 +0000

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!

Where there’s smoke there’s fire…and hey, is that my middle school band room?

tjweller — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:34:14 +0000

The morning was calm. Too calm. After taking one last drink of coffee, I picked up my scores, baton, and tuner and began walking towards the podium. In just seconds part of my middle school band would descend upon our rehearsal room eager to learn and play music (or maybe it was just the sugar from the snack line at lunch). But I never made it to the podium. Suddenly a completely refurbished alto clarinet burst into flame (it had been rebuilt and sent to me from another district but smelled of smoke…). It quickly consumed two chairs, my Wenger catalog (that was sad…), and the rain stick. I realized the horror of it all – MY MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND ROOM WAS ON FIRE.

So, I never dreamed in a million years that writing a post called “My Band Room is on Fire” would get the attention that it has. After having the summer to review that list, it has churned a significant repertoire list that as a profession of directors should be familiar. I got to thinking about it over the summer, and while thought provoking and good debate for high school directors the conversation should not stop there. There are plenty of colleagues (myself included) who really struggle with selecting good music for the Middle School/Jr. High Level. There are some exemplary standards out there, but I believe there to be a wealth of undiscovered gems as well.

The rules: You have time to save 10 pieces for study. I chose 10 so we have a little more flexibility, plus it creates a little larger rep list. Don’t be like a near-sighted colleague from my area that said he would wait for the place to burn and get the insurance money – contribute to the conversation and help the profession make progress!. A list of songs with arranger and/or composer will suffice. If you want to explain any of your choices, feel free to do so but it is not necessary. I will recap it all in about a month. Beware, the fire is burning again!

Carpathian Sketches…..Robert Jager

Suspended Animation…..Patrick J. Burns

Friends of Freedom…..Timothy Loest

Air for Band…..Frank Erickson

Canto…..W. Francis McBeth

Kentucky 1800…..Clare Grundman

Grant County Celebration…..Mark Williams

Marching Song…..Gustav Holst/arr. Moss

Salute to the Duke….arr. Michael Sweeney

The Battle Pavane…..Susato/arr.Margolis