"...full of interesting appealing ideas, voiced with great ingenuity and skill in the five instruments and it also demonstrates that diatonic music is still a through street... The clarinet is unquestionably the leading actor, but the strings have a lot of interesting things to say. The course of the action has great variety and is enjoyably unpredictable."

"...a setting of verses by California poet Christina Hutchins... Mr. Welcher's 14-mintue setting captures the tenderness of the memories and evokes a child's playfulness in lyric music descended from Debussy and Samuel Barber."

"All three movements are packed with musical ideas that pull the listener's attention from one orchestral section to the next, but with transitions that are smooth and natural... Welcher displays an ease with beautiful music in gorgeous brass ensembles, rich and consonant string passages and multitudes of solo colors."

"There was no doubt that at least some in the audience Friday night found (the) premiere thrilling with Welcher receiving heartfelt cheers and a very considered standing ovation. Such a reception was deserved. Welcher's Fifth is a 21st-century symphony for Austin: urbane, expressive, filledwith touches of whimsy and expansively
American in its artistic references.

Welcher's far too mature of a composer to have quoted directly from his American composer predecessors. But the past century of American music percolated intelligently and originally throughout: A bluesy riff, syncopated
rhythms, bold percussive turns, vigorous melodies and confident brass chorales balanced against moody swirls of woodwinds.

Most delightful was the second movement, Scherzo. In it, Welcher produced the most sophisticated musical impression yet of Austin's famed colony of Mexican free-tail bats which fill the city's evening skies. The woodwind melody, altering in its harmonic modes, skittered into a great cloud that was
then countered by blasts from the brass section.

A more reflective and melodic third movement crossed seamlessly into the final fourth movement in which everything--- the swirling woodwinds, the brass chorales, the driving rhythms, the bluesy riffs-- built into a brilliant burst that ended with a bright flourish. A perfect ending.""

"...fascinating music... I would like to hear it again, perhaps in a recording with extended program notes that would allow repeated exploration of its narrative and philosophical depths."

"The haunting work is in two sections. [In] the first, ...the music hang in the air suspended, ungrounded, a perfect setup for the long, almost conversational line of the bassoon… in the second part, the bassoon uses all of its range and plenty of its idiomatic turns, including staccato runs. But mainly the bassoon's line is long and languid... 'This piece is a real gift to the instrument,' [soloist Steven] Dibner said..."