John Wasson
John Wasson
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As an instrumentalist, john has been a bass trombone performer with the Woody Herman and Stan Kenton Orchestras, the Dallas Symphony and Dallas Opera Orchestras, and the Dallas Brass. He has worked with such notable artists as Michael Bolton, Tony Bennett, Bill Conti, Cab Calloway, Reba McIntyre, Liza Minnelli, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Richard Stolzman, and Joe Williams.
In 1976 Wasson transferred to the University of North Texas. After a brief interruption of school to tour as a Bass Trombone and Tuba performer with the Stan Kenton Orchestra over the summer of 1977, he graduated in 1980 with a degree in Music Theory. Continuing as a graduate student, he became a Teaching Fellow in Jazz Arranging under Paris Rutherford, and studied composition with William Latham, while earning his Masters Degree in Trombone Performance. While at North Texas he played for 3 years with the prestigious One O'clock Lab Band, touring the United States and Europe, and playing on 4 album releases under Leon Breeden and Neil Slater. During these years he began what was to become a long-term association as a founding member of the newly-formed Dallas Brass. He also had the opportunity to perform with the Woody Herman Orchestra during their 50th Anniversary tour.
After leaving UNT, Wasson moved to Dallas and began working as a composer-arranger, low brass performer, and music copyist. He became a staff arranger for the Dallas Cowboys stadium band; he also worked as a staff arranger for Buffalo Sound Productions in Ft. Worth, where he contributed music to national ad campaigns including Radio Shack, Stop N Go, Kern's Nectars, and many others. In 1987 Wasson formed a production company with his wife Gail, and together they created film and television soundtracks for Electronic Data Systems, the Salvation Army and Zola Levitt Ministries.
Wasson has composed and arranged several works for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, two of which appear on their Delos International CD release Dallas Christmas Gala. He has composed and contributed original music for the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation's campaign to build a new Theatre and Opera House for the city of Dallas. he has continued as a composer and arranger for the Dallas Brass, having contributed works to each of their five CD releases, and producing two. Most recently he has joined forces as orchestrator and arranger with praisecharts.com, an online publisher of contemporary worship music. He has also contributed arrangements and compositions to the orchestral shows of various performing artists including the The Gatlin Bros., the Dallas Brass, Charles Lazarus, Danny Wright, Gary P. Nunn, and Dave Alexander's Big Texas Swing Band.
Mr. Wasson has composed numerous original works under commission from various ensembles and educational institutions, including the Virginia Beach Symphony, the U. S. Air Force Academy Band, and many middle- and high-school bands across the country. His numerous published works for band, orchestra and jazz ensemble are found in the catalogs of Alfred Music, Hal Leonard Corporation, Word Music, and Virgo Music. He has arranged and designed shows for numerous marching bands and drum corps, including 17 years as a staff arranger for the Purdue All-American Marching Band.
As an active low-brass performer, Wasson performs regularly with his own Strata Big Band (for which he has written or adapted nearly all the arrangements and compositions), and is a charter member of "Them Bones," a Dallas-based Jazz Trombone ensemble for over 25 years. He currently holds the position of Worship Director at a local church in the Dallas area, and continues to create music for various church settings. Wasson is a member of ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. He currently resides in the Dallas area with his wife Gail and their three children.
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Find the best Christian Christmas songs and hymns based on the character of Mary. Download the chord charts, piano sheets, lyrics, vocal sheets, choral arrangements, orchestrations, patches, stage charts, and multitracks, to best serve your worship ministry during the Christmas season.
In some cases, we sell downloadable audio tracks direct from PraiseCharts. In other cases, we simply provide a reference sample of the song that can be purchased on popular sites like iTunes or Amazon. When you purchase an audio file from PraiseCharts, you can make up to five (5) copies for practical uses. This is similar to standards set out by iTunes, etc. If you need to make additional copies, you can purchase them right in your Library.
Split tracks are available for a limited selection of songs at PraiseCharts. A Split Track involves an MP3 stereo file where the vocals are on one channel and the instruments are on the other channel so that you can use the vocals for practice and then pan them down or out for performance.
Click Tracks are our most popular audio track product at PraiseCharts. If you're new to using backing tracks, or a seasoned worship band, Click Tracks provide a way to sync your entire band to a consistent tempo and give you helpful navigational cues while using in-ear monitors.
A rhythm chart is like a lead sheet without the lyrics or vocal lines. By taking the vocal lines out of the staff, there is more room to indicate unique rhythmic notations that are beneficial for guitar, bass, and drums. Generally, these players are not singing with the band, so the vocal lines are not necessary. The advantage of a rhythm chart over a chord chart is that there is more detailed information about the song map and the exact rhythms of the chord progressions.
Rhythm Tracks were created based on the success of Click Tracks. Rhythm Tracks are similar to Click Tracks, built on the exact same arrangement, but intended for a different level of the worship band. Where Click Tracks are well suited for a fully developed band that has a solid rhythm section, Rhythm Tracks are designed for a smaller band that may not have live drums and bass guitar.