Hi, I am Kehan Wenger.

I am 23 and I live in Grass Valley, in California.

I am a musician. I compose my own music and I play the drums, guitar, bass, piano and sing.

I have also started three bands and played in two others.

Now I teach all the instruments I play as well as music theory, and composition. If you are interested in lessons, use the contact form at the bottom of this page.

I have created this website to share my compositions with you.

I enjoy all sorts of music and I pride myself in composing and playing in a whole series of different genres, including rock, jazz, classical, pop, and electronic.

So I have uploaded samples of my music under different categories.

Scroll down to the genre you are interested in – or just explore the different things I do.

Salmon Jump, 2016

This is my first composition for full orchestra. It is based on the trio below. It still includes a saxophone and a piano, but with a much richer texture of sounds.

The audio file was computer generated. Thanks to Sheena Wenger for helping to put the midi file through her sample library.

Apple and Kewe, 2013

I had always wanted to compose something for the saxophone, and this was my chance. But rather than a traditional jazz trio, I decided to pair the sax with a cello.

Saved, 2015

I wrote this composition after visiting an animal shelter. The music is dedicated to the animals “saved” by this shelter.

On this recording, the musicians from the Music in the Mountains Young Composers workshop play the flute, the oboe, and the cello, and I play the piano.

River Journey, 2014

This piece attempts to bring listeners along a journey down the river, starting with a very slow drone and moving through various rhythms.

On the video recording, the musicians are from the Music in the Mountains Young Composers workshop. The piece is written in 7/8, which makes it rather difficult to play. So the audio file is actually a computer generated version, which does not sound very good, but has the original rhythm.

Life, 2012

This is my first composition with the Music in the Mountains Young Composers workshop. It is meant to show the diversity of emotions of being alive.

In this recording, I play the piano, then my piano teacher Andrea Fox replaces me as I take up the guitar.

Still I Rise, 2017

For this piece, I put to music one of Maya Angelou’s most amazing poems, “Still I Rise,” in which she asserts her pride in being an African-American woman. I have used different styles to capture the different ways in which she depicts her rise. I end the vocal on the dominant to convey that her rise is continuing.

In this recording, my friend Alexis Walker sings and I play the piano.

The audio file is just the song, but the video also includes my introduction. The song starts at 1:40.

Invictus, 2015

This song is based on the famous poem “Invictus” by William Henley, which reflects on his struggles with adversity and the strength that he finds in them.

In the music I have tried to capture both the darkness of his vision of life and the power of his need to conquer adversity.

In this recording, Nic Musser sings and I play the piano.

Mother Nature, 2014

Nic Musser sings and my piano teacher, Andrea Fox, is on the piano.

Where the Sidewalk Ends, 2013

The poem “Where the Sidewalk ends” by Shel Silverstein is both a touching ode to children’s imagination and a bit of eerie poem hinting at a hidden dimension. I tried to capture both themes with quick melodies as well as diminished chords.

Orange Lights, 2014

This easy-listening composition conveys the feeling of walking on a deserted street at night, with all the orange street lights shimmering through a light fog. It is beautiful, mysterious, and at time a bit scary.

That’s me playing the piano.

Electropulses, 2015

This could have been classified as a jazz piece, but it is a first draft of something more complex I have in mind. It is to be taken further, but it is already a fun piece.

I play synth, guitar, and bass.

Purple Bubbles, 2015

This one starts with an atmospheric floating of musical bubbles, but stronger rhythms soon interfere. The bubbles bend on the synth and end up bursting.

I play both synth and guitar

Phoenix Uprising, 2009-2010

This was my first band, with Jared Waters and Belizaire Berardi. It seems so long ago. But it was a really fun band and we did some good stuff. Here is a song we wrote called “Never Again” with a music video we produced for that song in the summer of 2010.

In this recording I play the lead guitar and the drums. My solo comes at the very end, from the roof of my house.

Rat Stomp, 2014-2015

I was filling in for Rat Stomp’s drummer and I ended playing drums for them for a couple of years. This is a very basic funk band. The music is simple but it is fun to play.

This recording was made at the Nevada County Fair in 2014.