BPHS Bands

Director: A. Tyler Thompson

Mr. A Tyler Thompson is the Director of Bands at Brooke Point High School. Mr. A. Tyler Thompson is a bass trombonist from Southeastern Virginia who holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from George Mason University and a master’s degree in trombone performance from Shenandoah Conservatory.

Mr. Thompson began his musical journey in the seventh grade, by first picking up the clarinet. In eighth grade, when he learned that he would be able to join the after-school jazz band if he played the trombone, Mr. Thompson promptly purchased a trombone he found listed in a Black Friday sale and started learning to play it. Mr. Thompson played trombone and clarinet throughout his high school career, and finally started playing the bass trombone when he joined the Chesapeake Bay Wind Ensemble (CBWE) under the direction of Bill Garlette, a community band located in the Tidewater area of Virginia. He studied with teachers Beth Stone, and Percy Ironmonger, director of the Super Jazz Band, and was mentored by his high school band directors Darren Kirsch and Gabe Stone, as well as Donald Wilmot, a fellow bass trombonist apart of the CBWE.

While studying for his master’s, Mr. Thompson enjoyed playing the bass trombone in a variety of ensembles offered at Shenandoah Conservatory, including the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, the Shenandoah Conservatory Big Band, the Appalachian Brass Quintet, and the Valley Bones Trombone Quartet. During his undergraduate degree at George Mason University, Mr. Thompson appeared as a featured solo artist with the George Mason Wind Symphony, playing the piece Barnacle Bill the Sailor. In the past, he has also prided himself as a dedicated tubist in the George Mason Tuba Euphonium Ensemble (GMUTEE), and had his arrangement of Mia Sebastian’s Theme, from the movie La La Land, premiered by GMUTEE at the Mid-Atlantic Tuba Euphonium Conference 2018 as well as played at the International Tuba Euphonium Conference 2019. Mr. Thompson has also made appearances playing along with the George Mason Jazz Ensemble, led by Jim Carroll, the George Mason Opera, under the direction of Joe Walsh, and the George Mason Brass Ensemble, while under the direction of Phil Snedecor. Mr. Thompson’s past and current teachers include Jeffrey Cortazzo, retired bass trombonist of the Army Blues, Matthew J. Neff, retired bass trombonist of the Navy Commodores and principal bass trombonist of the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, and Matt Niess, retire lead trombonist of the Army Blues.

A. Tyler Thompson plays on a Michael Rath R9D bass trombone.

Phone: 540-658-6080, ext. 1554 E-mail: thompsonat@staffordschools.net