Early summer “trio”
This piece was created during a period of shelter-in-place during which opportunities to make acoustic music in real time with other people dwindled to nothing. Instead of shifting my focus to multitrack recording, I began exploring alternate strategies for multi-instrument acoustic sound. This came in the form of a foot operated free reed organ (shruti box) and the augmentation of one of my existing piano wire instruments (a skiff) with three electromagnets allowing them to “bow” themselves. Thanks to Matt Steinke and the folks at dadageek.com for offering an excellent online class which helped me puzzle through the technical side of this project.
Travis Weller is a composer, performer and instrument builder. He is one of the founders of Austin New Music Co-op, which has been presenting adventurous new music in central Texas for nearly 20 years. His music has been commissioned and performed in Europe and across the US by groups such as Yarn/Wire, Ensemble Pamplemousse, line upon line percussion, Cadillac Moon Quartet, and the Quince Vocal Ensemble. Travis collaborates frequently with a large group of colleagues, both regional and international, and has participated in residencies at Cornell University in Ithaca, STEIM in Amsterdam, and OdysseyWorks in San Francisco. An avid interpreter of new music, Travis has performed a variety of contemporary music from mid-20th century onward and has worked with many internationally known composers including John Butcher, Phill Niblock, Olivia Block, Michael Pisaro, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Ellen Fullman, Tristan Perich, Pauline Oliveros, and Arnold Dreyblatt.