As a student, Brooke Pierson, a 2009 graduate of the MSU Music Education program, wrote pieces for the Tuba Studio where he studied with Professor Philip Sinder. Pierson now composes professionally in addition to full-time teaching responsibilities.
You could say that Brooke Pierson was more than a little surprised when in 2021 the United States Military Academy Band, aka West Point Band, offered him a commission to write a full-scale symphony.
Pierson earned a bachelor’s in music education at MSU in 2009, studying under Professor of Tuba and Euphonium Phil Sinder. Today he is music department chair at the Washtenaw International High School and Middle Academy (WIHI/WIMA) in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He teaches orchestra, band, music history, music culture, and music composition in the program he has built since the school opened in 2011.
The music teacher also has a flourishing side gig as a composer and music publisher. Even so, he said, “It took a minute to process” the enormity of the West Point request.
Founded in 1817, the West Point Band is the Army’s oldest active-duty band. Pierson’s new work was the first symphony the band had commissioned since the 1950s. That’s when 13 new pieces were commissioned for the Academy’s 1952 sesquicentennial celebration, including symphonies from renowned American composers Morton Gould and Roy Harris.
Pierson’s music has regularly been featured at regional and national conferences, contests, and festivals since 2019. His piece, “Rise Up,” was selected as a winner of the 2018 Dallas Winds fanfare competition, and in 2020, his work, “The Lighthouse Keeps Watch,” won the National Band Association/Alfred Composition Contest.
Also in 2020, the West Point Band, under the direction of Lt. Col. Tod Addison, gave the world premiere performance of Pierson’s Concerto for Tuba and Wind Orchestra.
Composing was mostly for fun
By his own estimation, Pierson has been writing music “since 9th or 10th grade. In high school I did a little arranging for musicals to help the director out,” including a production of “Little House of Horrors.” He composed an original piece for the school’s band, which was performed in concert. He also played in a rock band and did some song writing and a studio recording or two. But he wrote largely for himself. “Songwriting and composing were mostly for fun,” he said.
Pierson’s dream was to teach music, so despite his penchant for writing, he did not pursue composition at MSU. “The reality for young composers is that it is very hard to get noticed,” he said. When he did take an elective in composition, the teaching assistant arranged for him to record the piece he wrote for the class, which the professor liked. “Underneath the Silence” was premiered at MSU, “but nothing ever came of it,” Pierson said.
Still, he kept composing. He wrote for himself, and later, he composed music he thought his students would enjoy. He entered competitions, and he published. In 2018, with encouragement from his wife, he founded Taurus Music to publish and distribute his work.
MSU alumnus and composer Brooke Pierson delivers remarks at the premiere of his Symphony #2: “West Point” by the West Point Band.
A connection on social media
Then, the young composer did get noticed – by West Point’s Addison. “Tod Addison is well known for reaching out to young or new talent,” Pierson said. They connected on social media and Addison asked whether Pierson had anything his band could perform. Pierson offered him a few pieces for upcoming concerts slated for early 2020, which culminated in the New York world premiere of Pierson’s tuba concerto. A working relationship between the two musicians grew, as Pierson visited West Point to see a performance and to learn more about the band.
In 2021, Addison offered Pierson the full-scale symphony commission, and soon it was in the works.
The significance of being the first such commission in nearly 70 years was not lost on Pierson. “To be commissioned for something of that size is incredibly rare,” he said. Addison, he added, “felt that my voice would be a good fit for the band’s mission.”
When Pierson visited West Point, “the inspiration of the great American composers – Copland, Bernstein – was all around me.” He was awestruck by the historical importance of West Point and learned about the mission and music of the military band. “The mission of West Point Band, ’To provide world-class music to educate, train, and inspire the U.S. Corps of Cadets and to serve as ambassadors of the United States Military Academy to local, national, and international communities,’ is at the intersection of Americana music and my own style,” he said. The entire experience impressed him deeply and informed the tone he would take in writing the symphony: “Nothing too dramatic or heavy, but overall positive and reflective.”
Some months later, Symphony #2 “West Point” for wind ensemble was complete. It is written in four movements: Prelude, March, In Memoriam, and Trophy Point. The work was premiered by the United States Military Academy Band in New York on February 19, 2022, under Addison’s direction. Pierson, of course, was in the audience. “It was such an honor to be considered,” he said, “but to be commissioned for a symphony and have it performed by a band like West Point’s, with its deep roots in American history, was a once-in-a lifetime opportunity.”
For one of Pierson’s former MSU professors, to see him go in this direction is not necessarily a surprise.
“Brooke was a solid and engaged student and valuable member of the tuba-euphonium studio, and he composed several brass quintet and low brass works during his time at MSU,” said Professor of Tuba and Euphonium Philip Sinder. “He has taken a heavier dive into the composition field in recent years while also thriving in a full-time teaching job. It is terrific to see him enjoying such a level of success and recognition.”
A dream evolves
Once you’ve successfully written and had a performance of a full-scale symphony for the Army’s oldest band, what’s next?
Brooke Pierson’s dream is evolving as his fortunes have. He eventually wants to write music and operate his publishing company full time. For now, he is grateful for an administration that encourages his ambitions. He has a few commissions to complete over the summer, then, in the fall, he will continue in a part- time position that allows him to further pursue his business and artistic endeavors while following his passion for teaching.
He loves teaching and the music program he has built at WIHI/WIMA, but the writing and publishing lure is strong. “Ensembles all over the country are always looking for new material,” he says. “There is a huge market for music for developing musicians and for high-level music. All musicians need great music.”
Indicators are that Brooke Pierson will be writing some of it.
