Travis Heath, assistant professor, music, and his colleagues in the Brass Roots Trio performed for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama and their guests at the White House on December 8.

The Brass Roots Trio includes Heath on trumpet, Douglas Lundeen on French horn and Rosetta Senkus Bacon on piano. The group's latest album, "American Impressions," was released in May, and a copy found its way to the White House. A few months later the ensemble was invited to play for a holiday reception for White House staff and campaign workers.

"Instead of hurry up and wait, it was a lot of wait and hurry up," said Heath of the invitation. After the initial invitation, he said they were not given an exact date until less than a week before the event.

On the day of the event, Heath said that he and his colleagues were asked to arrive a few hours in advance to allow time for security detail and a private meeting with the president and first lady.

"They had dogs sniffing our cars and in our instrument cases," said Heath. "But once we got through we got to meet the president and the first lady and get photographs taken. Then we headed for a grand ballroom and set up for our performance."

The Brass Roots Trio is no stranger to revered performance venues; the ensemble has performed at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the Kennedy Center and other grand stages across the country and abroad. Last spring they performed at Northeastern as a part of the Jewel Box Series.