The American is a fun and vibrant piece in a march-esque style
It utilises the energetic rhythmic elements of the western film genre made famous by the music of Aaron Copland, Elmer Bernstein and Jerome Moross. Look out for the homage to the movie “Big Country” in the repeat of the trio section, an idea suggested to me after sending the first daft to my old friend and mentor Major Denis Burton MBE, to who’s guidance I will be forever grateful.
David (Dai) Wheeler studied French Horn (under Richard Watkins and Julian Baker) and Conducting and Composition at the Royal College of Music. He has worked as a freelance musician since 1995 playing in the London West End and UK Tours, working with artists such as Bryn Terfel, Andrea Bocelli, Willard White, Nicola Benedetti, James Galway, and Sir Yehudi Menuhin as well as for orchestras such as The Halle, Welsh National Opera, Sinfonia Cymru and the Bournemouth Sinfonietta. David has been arranging for brass quintet for 35 year and since joining The Regimental Band of the Royal Welsh in 2011 as an Army Reservist Tenor Horn player, has been extensively arranging and composing for brass band. David has taught and managed for county music services in South Wales for many years, believing in giving back to the grass roots from where he began and tutored French Horns for the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain for over 10 years.
