Today we’d like to introduce you to Brenton Alston.
Hi Brenton, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I have been blessed with a wonderful life surrounded by inspiring people and art. I started off very young singing in my church in Washington, D.C. The church for me is a very important part of my life and my development in this art. My dear mother Kelley had an amazing voice. Frankly everyone on my mother’s side of the family are gifted in the arts. Her voice was large and almost operatic at times. I was mesmerized. As life spins us around, we ended up moving to Atlanta, Georgia. During the time that we moved during the ’80s (as they somewhat are now), societal and racial tensions were high. Schools then did not have the rigor that my mother, a former schoolteacher for 20+ years, felt I needed to excel in life. So, my parents enrolled me in what was formerly Georgia Military Academy, now known as Woodward Academy in College Park, Georgia. My time there from second grade to twelfth grade provided a wealth of experiences that I am so grateful for today. At Woodward Academy I met my 1st musical mentors and advocates (Margaurite Wilder, Lauren Hunt, Michael Daugherty, Charles Brodie, and Marriano Pacetti). Those wonderful teachers created an environment that allowed me to not only learn how to play many different instruments but also; to conduct a group, to have good strong knowledge of music theory and to actually begin composing original music. I had accepted the responsibility of my this art wholeheartedly. These mentors sent me on an amazing tractor leading me to complete my Master’s in Conducting at Radford University with Professor Mark D. Camphouse. Thanks to Mr. Camphouse’s ardent teaching and support I was able to go on to complete my Doctorate and Artist Diplomas in Conducting at the University of Miami Frost School of Music with Professor Gary D. Green. Following a brief period at New World School of the Arts and in commercial music, I arrived at FIU around 10 years ago. That is for sure the short version.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
No, the road is not smooth. There were many obstacles that I faced during my time getting to FIU. At the time I was pursuing my DMA, Universities Colleges were starting to require the doctorate for these college teaching positions. The market of people with doctorates was growing to the point of almost saturation than with so few positions available. Not helping my situation was that I pretty much went directly through school. It was a choice that I made but I do feel that employers initially felt I did not have enough experience for the positions of which I was applying. I can also be very honest and say that almost up into the past 7 years or so there was/ is a significant lack of representation of diverse peoples in this field at a high level. I do not remember having many, if any, teachers that looked like me throughout my education. I guess it would have maybe helped me not feel like I was so alone in what I was trying to do with my life. Not having representation however did/does not deter me in any way. I believe is there is something in you that needs to come out it will!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
At FIU, I have the joy of conducting the FIU Wind Ensemble and Chamber Winds, teaching courses in undergraduate and graduate conducting, Wind Literature, African American Music, and Woodwind Techniques. I specialize in teaching conducting and in the music written for winds, brass, and percussion. I am also a big proponent of new composition for the ensemble and literature for winds. I am so proud of the commissions and premiers I have been able to bring to our community at FIU. It’s hard for me to think about what sets me apart from others…
We’d love to hear about what you think about risk-taking.
Nothing here in this realm is unchanging. Everything as I have experienced in life can/will change in some way. The” risk “I feel could be intern thought of as a possibly precarious opportunity. I of course have taken “risk.” For instance, when I commission a composer to write for the ensemble. I may know some of the other compositions and have a quasi-understanding of their compositional voice, but I have no idea what they will set on the page and give to us to realize. In the realization from composer imagination to present reality in real-time is powerful risk/opportunity. The ensemble and myself have the unique opportunity to realize, in our own way, the dreams, fancies and nightmares of these composers.
Image Credits
Michelle Vires
