One of Southwest Michigan’s most prolific and honored musicians and creators has been recognized again.
Brian D. Siewert is a Lakeshore High School graduate who has gone on to be highly successful on the music scene in Nashville, Hollywood and New York. Siewert’s latest honor comes from the Society of Composers and Lyricists in Nashville, earlier this month.
“The SCL Trailblazer Award was created to recognize and acknowledge a select group of composers and lyricists whose valuable contributions have pioneered scoring for film, television, and other visual media in Nashville, and without whose creativity our community would be deprived of the wonderful music and song expressed by their expertise.”
Siewert accepted the award at a ceremony in Nashville.
“Deep gratitude to The Society of Composers & Lyricists for honoring me with their ‘Trailblazer Award’ in Nashville this past weekend. I so appreciate the many friends, colleagues & musical collaborators that showed up on my behalf. Special heartfelt thanks to award-winning composers & songwriters Trey Bruce, Billy Kirsch, Jack Allocco as well as Linda Moran (President of The Songwriter’s Hall of Fame) & Barbara Bloom (Head of CBS Daytime Programming) for their kind words during the career tribute video that played at the event. It was a wonderful evening reflecting on the joys of making SO much music with friends in Nashville for decades & the incredible privilege of sharing those scores & songs across multiple shows & networks over the years.”
On his website, Siewert reflects on the process of creating enduring music that people love:
“Notes. just notes.
Beautiful (and sometimes horrifying) little black dots on a page… or in our minds. assembled in some divinely appointed or humanly chosen order (depending upon who’s defining it, (the composer or the critic). Created with the intent of making one FEEL something. a mood or an emotion, or created solely because: it just has to come out…
Reflective. introspective. inspired. a magnificent aural painting… the centric focus of a concert or simply background– elevator air-space filler.
Score for filmed entertainment to dramatically enhance the story’s impact on the viewer or the driving energy for a video game. a seasonal mood enhancer, a religious experience, a memorable hook to sell a product or the soothing ambience to accompany a relaxing massage.
Regardless of its role, it requires notes. And someone to invent & deliver the order, the dynamic, the spirit of them all into some sensible (or non sensical) form.
And thusly, a song, a work, an epic, a ditty, a composition… is born.”
Siewert has toured the nation to sold out arenas as a professional musician with country superstar Wynonna, appeared on The Tonight Show, VH-1, The CMA Awards, The Arsenio Hall Show, The ACM Awards, composed, scored & produced original music for the longest running shows in broadcast history: CBS television’s GUIDING LIGHT & AS THE WORLD TURNS. Over 5,000 hours of major network television broadcast hours scored by his original works!
Brian worked for Oprah Winfrey & Ellen Degeneres, won multiple Emmy® Awards, was nominated for a Dove® Award, has been featured in entertainment industry trades BILLBOARD Magazine, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER & VARIETY, conducted studio orchestras, performed with live symphonies and recorded with some of the biggest names in the music business. Millions of records have been sold that Brian was privileged to be a contributor as a producer, musician, arranger, and/or conductor.
Siewert has contributed to albums by Rascal Flatts, Trace Adkins, Ronnie Milsap, Barbara Mandrell, Steve Green (singer), Martin Taylor (guitarist), Jim Brickman, John Rich, Rebecca Lynn Howard and Wade Hayes.
Among his accomplishments:
- 4 Emmy® Awards • 24 Emmy nominations
- ASCAP Film/TV Award (most performed theme and underscore)
- 2 BMI Film/TV Awards
- Toured the nation to sold out arenas as keyboardist with multiple Grammy, CMA & ACM winning country legend Wynonna
- Dove Award nominated record producer
- session musician, conductor & arranger on several multi-platinum albums
- award winning songwriter
- Berklee College of Music / Belmont University / Vanderbilt Blair School of Music
- owner/exec. producer & chief note generator for film/tv music production co. GREAT SOURCE MUSIC
- creator of original symphonic pops show “Soap Operas, Symphonies & Sexy Music”
- deep in the trenches composing unique, new works for the symphonic concert stage
In 2007, Siewert created the Brian D. Siewert Artist in Motion award at Lakeshore High School. A scholarship is awarded each year to a deserving student in a music or arts related field of study.
Learn more at www.briandavidsiewert.com
