WILL WHITTEN
(he/him)
My name is Will Whitten, and I am a recent Music Education and Music Performance Major graduate from Northern Arizona University. Music has always been a driving force in my life since the fifth grade, and it has taken me on an incredible journey that has shaped me into the musician I am today. I began on the saxophone, which I played until my junior year of high school, when I made the switch to trombone. I then auditioned for Drum Corps International groups, such as The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps (2018-2019) and the Santa Clara Vanguard (2020-2021).
Currently, I play trombone, teach middle school band, and compose out of Flagstaff, Arizona. I have and continue to perform with many different groups, such as Extra! Extra! Brass Band, F-Town Sound, and the Interference Series. Performing music for people led to the co-creation of the Flagstaff Klezmer Orkestra (FKO) with Kaia Guscott. I have been performing and arranging Klezmer music since 2021 and have been the lead arranger of FKO, ultimately led me into the world of composing.
COMPOSER
COMPOSER
Composing came into my life fairly recently as I started to write and arrange music for the Flagstaff Klezmer Orkestra. Throughout the couple of years, I have been fortunate to be able to arrange many FKO tunes, leading to writing some original work along the way, with Zenith - for brass quintet, being the first composition. Throughout my compositional carrer, I have been fortunate enough to study under some fantastic people, such as Dr. Rob Wallace, Dr. Julie Zhu, and Dr. Kevin Day, all of whom are incredible musicians and composers of their own. Also, I have been able to secure grants to compose such as the Student-led Projects in the Arts, Creative Activity, and Scholarship award from Northern Arizona University.
For my compositional style, I find concert band music to be some of the most flexible and expressive music imaginable. Between thirty to sixty people all coming together to create a homogenous organism that moves, breaths, and communicates as one provides an opportunity to influence so many people at once. With coming up on ten years of performing concert band music, I believe concert band music does not fully connect a musician's knowledge, skill, and artistic sensitivity in performing music. The standard concert band composition is a structured soundscape where all the musicians are placed in a role. Most often, a conductor is the leader of an ensemble; they are the ones who put together concepts from the score to present to the musicians.
While this standard setting is practical, there is an oversight of composers writing meaningful material accessible to all instruments, thus depriving both musicians and audience members of engaging in all facets of musicianship. For a composer to give melodic material to a flute, where the instrument has great dexterity and flexibility, is normal and is often employed in concert band music. However, giving a tuba or a percussionist the melody is not common because of the specific and "appropriate" roles these instruments are assumed to have in the band. This structure deprives all musicians of exposure to performing different musical skills.
Link to an article from NAU about how I got into composing as well as klezmer: Undergraduate premiering klezmer composition
A composer should continue to develop their ideas, but with the effort to expose every instrument within the concert band to as many factors of musicianship as possible. This approach will not only elevate a musician's experience but also enhance the audience's experience as they will hear a diverse range of sounds and expressive qualities exhibited by each instrument.
As I mentioned before, Kaia Guscott and I formed a band called the Flagstaff Klezmer Orkestra (FKO) in late 2021. We wanted to bring something new and exciting to the music scene in Flagstaff. So, we created FKO which combines different music styles like Classical, Jazz, Romani, and Balkan music with a unique blend of Middle Eastern-inspired melodies and upbeat traditional Jewish songs. Our goal is to create an energetic sound that will make people want to dance and have fun, while also standing out from any other music ensemble in Flagstaff. We are so excited to share our love for klezmer music with our community and can't wait to see FKO grow and evolve in the future.
KLEZMER
KLEZMER
Artwork by Kaia Guscott
There should be no barriers between formal concert music and "popular" music. So, when venturing into composing for chamber groups and concert bands, I tend to draw inspiration from various musical cultures, such as klezmer, as well as skillfully fuse elements from artists I admire, such as Björk, Louis Cole, Tyler, the Creator, Masayoshi Takanaka, Little Simz, and Vulfpeck.
The next step in my career as a Bass Trombonist is to be able to offer lessons to students of all ages and skill levels. I'm dedicated to helping anyone achieve their full potential, and I'm committed to providing a fun and engaging learning experience. With my strong background in music education and performance, I'm well-equipped to teach anyone the technical and artistic aspects of playing the Trombone as well as offer support and guidance for music school.