Aptly named for the small fish bearing silver streaks along either side of its body, the submarine USS Silversides (SS-236) was commissioned a mere eight days after the attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7 1941.  Silversides would enjoy a highly successful 5-year tenure, sinking 23 enemy ships.  After 14 missions, Silversides was decommissioned in 1946 and subsequently entered service as a Naval training vessel near Chicago.  
The vessel would eventually find its way to Muskegon, Michigan, where she now holds a prominent position in the Great Lakes Naval Memorial.

A slow, mysterious opening statement sets the tone for the venerable submarine submerging to embark on her perilous assignment.  The tempo suddenly becomes fast as Silversides stealthily glides through the dark, murky waters.  The music becomes increasingly intense as the vessel steadily moves forward, culminating in the inevitable conflict.  After the boisterous “battle sequence”, the mood is jubilant and brisk in tempo with the music coming to an exciting finish.

Silversides

Hymn to the Dawn by Kimberly Archer

Performed by BJU Chorale. Published by Hinshaw Music.

A Basque Lullaby

The rustle of wind. Rattling shutters or windows. Startling sounds. A falling object. At night, our senses tend to be on edge and small occurrences are more upsetting. Throw in an unexpected and mysterious voice in the dark and suddenly we experience a heightened sense of fear of the unknown. The Haunting Call for high school band is a sonic journey of fearful flight away from danger on a dark and shadowy night.

Music for Concert Band 2023-2024

The Haunting Call - Travis J. Weller

Single movement work for wind ensemble.  (2015) Duration: ca. 7:00 Commissioned and Premiered by  University of Georgia
Perf. by University of Illinois, Stephen Peterson, conductor

CAVEAT for Wind Ensemble (U of Illinois)

Performance by the 2009 Indiana University of Pennsylvania Honors Band, Dr. Jack Stamp, Conductor.

Esprit Nouveau! (2008 / rev. 2009)

Bioluminescence for Saxophone Quartet

LSU Symphonic Band - A Quiet Journey Home- Ayatey Shabazz

Performance by the Pittsburgh Creators Project Symphonic Winds May 2018

A Fleeting Moment for Wind Band
Written in December 2015, this piece came to fruition in pondering what beauty is. I found myself referencing short moments in my own life... the simple things. It is easy for me to feel there is not enough time in the given day, often feeling like I am running onto the next big thing. I think it is this way for most people. We pass by some of the beauty in our lives and recognize it only when we reflect at the end of a fast-paced day. I think we all encounter these fleeting moments in different forms which only need us to stop and appreciate them.
Expressive, impressionistic figures are first deployed in a small chamber ensemble.  As the ensemble grows, new textures woven from simultaneous instrument patterns evolve. A thematic seed is planted here that appears in various forms throughout. The body of the piece features a series of short episodes with increasingly more intense arrival points.  After several of these episodes-leading-to-climaxes, the piece draws back to a limited instrumentation to close.  Not content to simply recycle conventional devices, but yet still not abandoning the tonal context of the last 100 years, the piece aims to find beauty in the place of tension between tradition and invention.

Live at Moon Area HS

A Fleeting Moment - Pittsburgh Creators Project Symphonic Winds

I have always been a fan of Philip Glass.  He was one of the first composers that really spoke to me when I heard his music in middle school.  Fast-forward to 2019, when Boardman MS directors, Tim Tuite & Michael Shevock asked me to write a piece for their middle school band to perform in 2020.  I came back to a thought I had while listening to Glass’s music.  The harmonic language lends itself well to a spy-themed composition.  So I set off on the process of writing a grade 2-3 spy-themed work, drawing inspiration from Philip Glass.  The result is Code:Glass.

"Code:Glass" - for Concert Band *MIDI*

Director of Music Education and the Symphonic Winds at Messiah University by day, husband to an amazing wife, father to four great kids, and Band Music Composer at odd times of the day.  Advocate, Composer, Conductor, and Educator on a quest to save music education one note and one student at a time. Always looking for that one note...and a pencil...and some staff paper...and a few minutes of silence to get it all down. Constantly thinking about music, education, and composition and realizing the toughest thing about being successful is that you have to keep on being successful. A composer with published pieces at FJH, Carl Fischer, Ludwig-Masters, Manhattan Beach, C.L. Barnhouse, Wingert-Jones, and Bandworks Publications!

The Haunting Call - Travis J. Weller

Travis J. Weller

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