Episode 42

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Published on:

27th Aug 2024

1.42 - Brooke Pierson

Brooke Pierson (b. 1987) is a multi-award winning composer, multiple ASCAP+ Award Recipient, conductor, and teacher of the year nominated educator out of Ypsilanti, Michigan (USA). 

Brooke’s music has been performed throughout the United States and abroad by groups such as the West Point Band, the Dallas Winds, the Appalachian Wind Ensemble, and the Banda Musicale Città di Seriate, as well as renowned solo and chamber musicians including Craig Knox (Pittsburgh Symphony). In 2018 his piece for brass ensemble “Rise Up” was selected as a winner of the Dallas Winds fanfare competition. Since 2019, his music has been regularly featured at regional and national conferences, contests, and festivals. In 2020, his work "The Lighthouse Keeps Watch" was selected as winner of the NBA/Alfred Composition Contest. In 2021, he was commissioned by the West Point Academy Band/US Army to write his Symphony No. 2 "West Point", the first piece of this scope commissioned by the academy band since 1952. Brooke regularly serves as a guest and resident composer to institutions.

Brooke holds a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Michigan State University and is currently Chair of the Music Department at the Washtenaw International High School and Middle Academy, (Ypsilanti, Michigan), teaching Orchestra, Band, Music History, Music Culture, and Music Composition, where he has held this position since the school's inception in 2011. He also served as the music director of Grace Lutheran Church (Howell, MI) for 8 years as organist and musician. 

Brooke is a member of ASCAP and his music can be found with Alfred Music, Excelcia Music Publishing, C. Alan Publications, and his own publishing company Taurus Music Publishing. 

www.brookepierson.com

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About the Podcast

Composer Chats
Composer Chat is a podcast where we talk a little bit about music, a little bit about life, and a whole lot about whatever we feel like at the moment! Each episode I am joined by a special guest composer and we will chat about their pathway towards success in their musical career!

About your host

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Jason Nitsch

Jason Nitsch’s music is equally at home on the concert stage, in outdoor venues, and streaming online, reaching the broadest audience of musicians, performers, and music enthusiasts possible. As a composer dedicated to the exploration of new ideas, his music has evolved over a 25-year career to incorporate more and more non-traditional elements, such as effect tracks, sound drops, and enveloping electroacoustic works combining live and pre-recorded elements. Much of his work is rooted in a large ensemble context; his wind ensemble works have received thousands of performances throughout the US including at Midwest, State Music Conferences including Texas, Colorado, and Kentucky Music Educators Associations, Colleges and Universities like Baylor University, the University of North Texas, and Syracuse University, and at other regional music festivals (ITEA).

In recent years Jason has focused on more intimate chamber musical settings, including collaborations with solo musicians such as trumpeter Kate Amrine , Cellist Carolyn Regula (The Cello Doll) and vocalist Michaela Catapano, as well as chamber groups across the US (Chicago Brass Choir), while continuing expand his sizable catalog of works for larger instrumental forces.

Jason is well known for his work as an educator, dedicated to providing young promising musicians with the foundational experiences on which a lifetime of music-making can be built, and is pursuing research into the ways that music students process their experiences as learners and performers.

Combining his long career in music with a deep love of science fiction and a natural talent for storytelling, Jason recently launched his first podcast, “Beyond the Belt: Adventures from the Outer Rim.” “Beyond the Belt” is a collection of 8 original dramatic science fiction episodes for which he served as writer, producer, and composer. It tells the story of a scientific research experiment gone horribly wrong. With Zombies (of course!).

Jason has released three digital albums in recent years, including the Season One Soundtrack from the Beyond the Belt podcast, “1000 Steps to Nowhere", a collection of chamber music compositions, and most recently “The Dead Teach the Living,” featuring nine vocal collaborations ranging from solo works to Orchestral compositions.

Jason is a lover of dogs, video games, and all things Star Wars (yes, even the prequels). He is also a husband, father of two budding musicians, and a patron of art forms that stretch traditional boundaries.

He currently lives in Waxhachie, TX with his family. He can occasionally be sighted lurking at select music conferences.