Ava Guzic '25
Apr 18, 2025
` Many Mercersburg Academy community members fondly remember former music teacher Bryan Morgan ’07 from his time on campus. Along with being a positive and upbeat personality, Morgan wore many hats, serving as the director of the concert band, jazz band, and chorale. He also taught Mixing Music classes and coached football. He left Mercersburg in 2023 after seven years to follow his dream of being a composer.
Mercersburg continues to hold a special place in Morgan’s heart as shown by his highly anticipated return to campus on April 18 for the Save the Music Benefit Concert. He was encouraged to attend by Claire Chow ’26, an organizer of the event. “In November, my girlfriend and I met up with Chow for dinner one evening in NYC,” explained Morgan. “She told us about a benefit concert she was putting together and asked if we would be interested in performing in the concert. Unfortunately, my girlfriend wasn’t able to participate, but I was able to work it out in my schedule to come and perform.”
Since leaving Mercersburg, Morgan has been living in New York City. “I work as a composer for both concert and media,” said Morgan. “That means I write music for live concert performances as well as for film, TV, video games, and similar projects. I am also a second year graduate student at New York University earning a master’s degree in Music Composition and Theory: Screen Scoring. I will graduate in May.”
Despite his success, Morgan still remains deeply attached to the people and places that shaped him. Morgan recalled his time at the school fondly: “All of those evenings after Magalia and/or Jazz Band rehearsal, Mr. [James] Brinson and I would walk back to our homes together and talk. We would chat about anything and everything. He is such a wonderful person and a great friend.” These everyday conversations stuck with Morgan even after he had left. “It makes me realize how spoiled I was to get to see him every day. I miss it!”
In an interview for Shoutout LA, Morgan said “I love community. Meeting people is one of my favorite activities in life…I enjoy collaborating with others and being a part of something bigger than myself.” In an effort to continue building his community, Morgan has traveled all over the country. “I’ve been putting in a lot of work to keep building my community, attending conferences and networking events in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and of course in New York City.”
About his motivations for returning Morgan said, “I’ll always be an advocate for music education, but more importantly, I’ll always do my best to support my former, current, and future students. This concert meant a lot to Chow, and I really wanted to be there for it.”
Morgan will be performing alongside the Mercersburg Academy String Quartet in the concert. “I’m performing one of my music cues with MASQ for a short animated piece, and it hit me the other day—this was actually the first piece I had professionally recorded after leaving Mercersburg and moving to New York.” he explained. “I think it’s really cool to be able to bring a little piece of that journey back to Mercersburg. It feels pretty serendipitous!”