Dear Esther,
Your husband seems to have fantastic talent. His arrangements have such thick and lush chords they sound so fantastic.   He can make a good band sound great and a great band sound fantastic.  You have a great product!!!!! Tell your husband many, many thanks for sharing his God given talent with us.

Saunders Jones Jr, MD
Etowa Jazz Society
Cartersville GA - USA

I just purchased the chart "Kakadu" (difficult version) and we performed at our Jazz Camp concert yesterday with rave reviews. I'm hoping to find a few more Ed Wilson charts for my band this year.

Thanks for making his music available to us.

David & Lisa Lang
Independence High School
Independence, Iowa
USA

I first played Ed Wilson's charts when I joined his band in 1973. Almost 30
years on I still play his compositions and arrangements because they are
exciting, creative and innovative.
You can always tell a chart by Ed because they play themselves.
Without doubt, Ed's music is world class, be it for professional musicians or for developing ensembles.
Norm Harris.
Musical Director
The Australian Showband - Melbourne.

Aberfoyle Park High School Music trip to Japan
4pm on Friday the 7th of December 2001 our party of 42 students and 7 adults marched to take our seats on the stage of the gymnasium at the Niigata Kokusai Joho High School before all their students and staff. It was our first day in Japan. Now these 42 students were drawn from all of our ensembles, so there was very little common repertoire. 'What should we play?' was an early question. We selected a little from the current Concert Band and Stage Band repertoire, but mostly pulled out Ed Wilson arrangements that would use all students including the vocalists. These were:-

ABBA Medley
Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Big Spender
Fur Elise Funk
Macarthur Park
Peer Gynt Rock
Scattin' Latin
Waltzing Matilda

Many of these charts were already familiar to the players as Ed Wilson arrangements feature heavily in year level and class ensembles' repertoire lists. (Aberfoyle has more than 200 students studying music and learning instruments.) Why do they feature so much for these ensembles, and why would they be good for the Japan trip? The answers are easy:-

1.  Staff wouldn't have to write extra parts for either the rhythm section players or the flute/clarinet etc players. Ed includes them all making his arrangements suitable for the typical Aussie music class.

2.  Students like playing the charts. I had suggested that the more traditional concert band arrangement of Waltzing Matilda be rehearsed. There was great student opposition with:- 'Please don't make us play it. It's a boring arrangement. The Ed Wilson arrangement is FUN!'

3.  Individual parts are well scored and are playable by students at the suggested level of the arrangement.

4.  The ranges of the vocal charts sit well for female vocalists.

5.  The high-energy style of the arrangements suit the out going and energetic natures of our students.

The performance for the Kokusai Joho School, then the one later in our tour to the Nishinomiya School both went well and were received with enthusiasm.

The idea for a trip to Japan was two years in the making, ten days of experiences, and so exciting that we hope to do it again.
Virginia Lakeman - Music Co-ordinator

Two things stick in my mind over my period with the band featuring Wilson Music. The first was in 1996 when the Police Band went to Tokyo, Japan, for a "World Congress of Police Bands." There were seven band's from all over the world and each band was allowed 30 minutes for their segment. I chose three Wilson numbers amongst my program. They were "Aussie Singalong", "Aussie Medley" and the vocal "Mamma Mia". The Japanese loved them and we were in fact voted the "gun" band by the NYPD Police Band.

The other occasion was for the opening of the NSW Parliament. We were sitting out the front of Parliament House in Sydney playing as the dignitaries walked inside. Included in my program were two numbers. One was a movie medley which had in it "Send In The Clowns" and the other was the Wilson "Aussie Medley" which had "Bad Habits" included. I didn't know at the time, but the radio and press picked up on these two tunes and broadcast that the Police Band was playing Send in the Clowns and Bad Habits for the Parliamentarians. I was rung at 10 o'clock at home that night by police media asking why I chose to send up the opening of Parliament. It's funny now, wasn't so funny at the time.
Since retiring from the Police Band, I have taken over the conducting of a few school bands and I hope to continue my long association with Wilson Publishing via the school bands.

All the best and thanks for the memories.
Dennis Williams

Dear Ed,

I can't thank you enough for the arrangements you have done for the concert bands and the jazz ensembles. My students come from a background where playing an instrument is not a priority in their lives. I have beginners along with advanced students and these charts enable both the senior student and the beginners to rehearse together and have a go. The pieces are current repertoire and they are willing to spend a large amount of time rehearsing them for a performance. The charts allow the flexibility to add a vocal and dance group - (Hooked on Supremes) and enable more students to be involved in the music program, to make a great concert performance.

The jazz ensemble charts are very accessible and sound great, capturing the styles - ("Straighten Up and Fly Right", "Major Swing"). They love "Sorta Salsa" as this chart allows a large number of beginner kids to be involved which was quite a challenge at the biginning of the year, and it is now one of their favourites. The jazz ensemble was really inspired by performing in the Generations in Jazz competition and the selection they played from your catalogue. We are only working at a level 3, but they are looking forward to trying more difficult pieces.

Once again thank you for your support and keep up the good work.

Yours sincerely,

Joan Jones
Music Director
Melton Secondary College, Vic.