Dripping Springs student musicians to premiere piece memorializing Dorian Zev Kweller

On Feb. 23, student musicians at Dripping Springs High School will premiere a piece written in honor of Dorian Zev Kweller, who died tragically last year at the age of 16.

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) — Dorian Zev Kweller was a musician, student at Dripping Springs High School and part of the marching band, a friend to many, a brother, and the son of Ben and Liz Kweller.

Ben Kweller is a well-known musician based out of Dripping Springs. He has worked on many music projects, including being part of the band Radish. He also owns local record label The Noise Company.

Last year, Ben announced his son Dorian died in a tragic accident at the age of 16.

Later this month, almost a year to the date of his death, Dorian's peers are premiering a piece of music written in his honor. The piece will be played at the Dripping Springs Percussion Ensemble Concert on Friday, Feb. 23 at the high school.

Ivan Trevino, a well-known composer and professor in the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas, was commissioned to write the piece, named 'Zev' after Dorian's middle name, which is the name he used to release his music. The composition builds off of some of Dorian's own music and keeps his spirit alive.

Matt Ehlers, director of percussion for the Dripping Springs Independent School District, said the band boosters and percussion section thought commissioning the work would be a great way to honor and remember Dorian, and Trevino was a perfect fit because his background is similar to Dorian's genre of music.

"Dorian was an incredibly musical student and person. And so his music is... he's really good at writing melodies and hooks and his music is kind of pop-oriented. Our art form, our medium is percussion ensemble or chamber music, it's not always thought of as quite as poppy," Ehlers explained. "And so I immediately thought of having Ivan Trevino work on the commission, because of his background."

Ehlers said Trevino was on board immediately, so Ehlers sent him Zev's music before he started writing the piece.

"Ivan just did an incredible job of listening to Dorian's music and kind of like living with it for months, and getting to know Dorian through his music," Ehlers said.

"Then he ended up composing and, in his words, kind of arranging this piece, because he was able to incorporate a bunch of really beautiful melodies from various songs of Dorian's and create this piece."

Keeping Zev's memory alive

Dorian's dad Ben said Ehlers reached out shortly after Dorian died to tell him about the idea for the commission.

"Like within a few weeks, I think the school made the decision that they wanted to put some funds together to commission a piece of music in Dorian's honor," Ben said, "which was, of course, like the biggest honor that I could think of from a music department at a school. And I instantly started bawling, I've been doing a lot of crying this past year."

"So of course, I was just over the moon about that," Ben continued. "And that's when Matt Ehlers told me about the composer, Ivan, who put together this piece, so it's taken a few months. And recently, Matt sent me a recording of the piece, so I got to hear it for the first time. And I was just blown away. It's such a cool piece of music."

Ben said he thinks Dorian would have loved the piece and would be thrilled to know his peers are performing it.

"Dorian would be so thrilled by this, he would love seeing his friends, his fellow musicians playing this piece. And it's a very complex and multi-dimensional piece of music, just like Dorian was. And so it really takes the listener on a journey," Kweller said.

Dorian was described by Ehlers as someone who was always encouraging and loved people, and Ben agreed, saying Dorian was a connector, that he loved all people and didn't have enemies, only friends. Ben said that's a legacy that lives on -- through Zev's music, through Trevino's arrangement, and a nonprofit created in honor of Dorian, called Zev United, which supports young musicians and skateboarders.

Kweller said if anyone coming to the Dripping Springs concert didn't know Dorian or hasn't heard his music, they should listen to Zev on Spotify so they can get familiar with it before hearing the piece by Trevino.

"And then when you show up on Friday night at the Dripping Springs High School, it'll be such a great tribute. But also you'll see just how special that community of students at the Dripping Springs High School and how much passion they put behind their instruments and what the directors do every day is really incredible. And then, of course, the composer Ivan's going to be there, which is a real honor," Kweller said.

The composition

Trevino agreed with what Ehlers said about his musical background and said it helped him approach writing 'Zev.'

"I think as soon as I heard Dorian's music, it sounded familiar to me, and to my own musical aesthetic. So I think immediately, I was drawn to trying to incorporate those sounds into my own piece," Trevino explained.

"I know [Dorian] through stories, but I know him best through his music, which I really sort of dived into. And instead of sort of just writing my own piece, I thought it would be nice to incorporate Dorian's melodies and hooks from his music. It seemed appropriate to do that. And he was so good at it, and I just felt like if I can orchestrate it in my own way, it would be a nice tribute to the creator that he was."

The piece also created a space where Dorian's peers are still being inspired by him and have even stepped out of their comfort zones to bring it together.

"I think that one thing that makes this piece special, and Ivan did such a good job with it, is that some of Dorian's close friends in the section, they're getting to play kind of instruments that, that maybe you don't always think of when you think of chamber music or percussion ensemble," Ehlers said. "Like, the piece starts out with guitar, and one of [Dorian's] close friends is a really great guitarist. And then we have some synth players, and instead of having a drum set, we kind of use like an 808 kind of drum and bass machine, which is unique," Ehlers said. "It's probably not what you always think of when you think of percussion ensemble or chamber music. And I think that is really fun. And it fits Dorian."

There's a part toward the end that requires the students in the ensemble to sing, and Ehlers said they were a little nervous and timid about it at first, but thinking about "what would Dorian tell you," brought a smile to their faces and helped encourage them through it.

"And even if it's not perfect, but if we are in the moment together, that's the important thing, and I think it's going to be the thing that is the most memorable," Ehlers said.

The concert is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 23 from 7 to 9 p.m.