I am and always will be a musician. Music is what I do and my mission of performing is that you walk away from all my performances with a sense of joy. This site is focused on sharing all the different musical projects I am currently involved in including; “The Electro Funk Assembly”, “Naked Rock Fight”, “Dawn’s Swingin’ Blues Review”, “The Dawn Weber Trio”, “Arch City Brass”, “Gateway Brass”, and “Orquesta Son Montuno”.
If you love music no matter which one of these groups you see you will always be highly entertained and leave in a great mood with a pep in your step!!
Dawn Weber Music | Biography
About Dawn Weber, Entertainer, Trumpeter, Composer and Singer
Classically-trained trumpet playing, singer with her horn in many genres.
Young Dawn Weber
I started playing the trumpet at age 11 and excelled at it. I practiced all the time. It was all I wanted to do. At the age of 16, I found performing arts high school, the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC. I got on a greyhound bus and left my home at 16 to be trained to be a professional trumpet player.
Musical Education
At NCSA, I studied with Raymond Mase who also taught at Julliard and would fly down once a week for our lessons. He played with Summit Brass, American Brass Quintet, New York Ballet, put out solo recordings, and freelanced all over the world. He is now the chairman of the brass department for Julliard.
I was at NCSA for four years studying both jazz and classical styles. We were constantly sent on tour all over the eastern side of the United States. We even played Carnegie Hall!
I then went on to study at the conservatory Cleveland Institute of Music where I studied with Michael Sachs, the principal trumpet player of The Cleveland Orchestra. I studied orchestral playing intensely. I also studied jazz privately with Marshall Griffith.
After college, I started doing a lot of competitions. I took second place at the International Trumpet Guild Solo Competition. In 2000, I was selected 1 of 5 from the world to compete in Bad Sackingen, Germany for the Ellsworth Smith International Trumpet Competition.
I moved to the St. Louis area in 1998. I played for Susan Slaughter and before long I was getting to play as an extra and a sub with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.
Vargas Swing
I started to play with a group called Vargas Swing. At first, I was just a trumpet player for the group but one night on a dare I sang “Take the A Train”. Before I knew it I found myself one of the front personalities for Vargas Swing. Vargas Swing put out a CD called “Fire” on which all songs were my compositions.) Following the CD release, Vargas Swing toured twice to the west coast and another tour that went south all the way down to the Florida Keys. The group also was featured on two compilations. Eventually, Vargas Swing became Vargas and I became the primary front person.
Urban Jazz Naturals
Urban Jazz Naturals was a group that produced live electronic dance music in the forms of House Music, Drum and Bass, Trip Hop, and Hip Hop. I was the songwriter for that group and we put out 2 of our own CDs and we were also featured on 2 compilations. The track “How Can I” was played all over the world and became an underground hit internationally.
Current Dawn Weber Music Projects
Dawn unplugged/ The Dawn Weber Trio will be the softer side of Dawn (basically, me performing sitting still, well, as much as I can). I will be performing with a keyboard player, playing my trumpet and singing everything from jazz, soul, rhythm and blues, pop, and my originals.
Electro Funk Assembly
Dawn and the Electro Funk Assembly will be a very high-energy show. This project will be performing original music in the styles of live House Music, Drum and Bass, Trip Hop, Hip Hop, and other electronic styles.
Naked Rock Fight
Another popular local group I performed and wrote for was the Treble Clef Palette which disbanded in 2011. Many of the original “TCP” personally have come together in the form of a new project called “Naked Rock Fight. This is a six piece funk-jazz ensemble featuring Mark Youngbauer on guitar, Nathan on keyboards, Matt McKeever on saxophone, Donnie Inman on bass and Jerry Mazucca carries the beat on drums.
There is more….
I can also be found performing with St. Louis area Salsa/Meringue Band Son Montuno and in various duets which will be posted up in the schedule here.