Jerbrel Bowens

Jerbrel Bowens is the Director of Visual and Performing Arts and Student Pathways at Brighton Central School District in New York, bringing a dedicated career in public education as a tenured music educator, Marching Arts Director, and 9–12 general music and band specialist, and former assistant principal. A graduate of Houghton University (Bachelor of Music Education in Composition and Percussion) and a New York State certified K–12 educator, Jerbrel is deeply committed to fostering educational equity, artistic excellence, and meaningful pathways for students.

As an active composer and publisher with over 100 works spanning wind ensemble, jazz, orchestra, choir, and the marching arts, Jerbrel’s music is performed internationally across Europe and Asia, broadcast on the BBC, and featured by premier organizations including The United States Marine Band (“The President’s Own”). Drawing from a diverse musical palette—from gospel and jazz to classical traditions—his mission as both an educational leader and a composer is simple: to provide students and ensembles with culturally relevant, artistically compelling music that instills pride and celebrates the joy of making music together.

When I think about the quote, “It’s not that you will, it’s that you can,” I cannot help but magnify the profound skills we get to cultivate in students each day through music.

The reality is that while some of our students will go into music as a career, many who engage with our programs will not go on to become full-time musicians or conservatory graduates. With that in mind, our work becomes even more impactful when we embrace the idea that music education goes far beyond teaching a child how to produce sound on an instrument. We lean into the process of music-making and the powerful community built from it.

Our roles as educators certainly include teaching students to perform at a high level. At the K-8 level especially, this is a critical time to ensure kids understand why music matters, recognizing that the disciplined work behind it deserves to be respected and preserved. After all, the last thing we want is for a student to grow up complaining that “music class never did anything for me”—only for those exact people to eventually become school board members and vote down funding for the arts! Jokes aside, we are actively teaching the work ethic, creative thinking, and vital soft skills students need to meet the challenges of the world.

It is not that students will necessarily go into music as a career—it is that whether they choose to do that or pursue anything else, we have given them the tools and skills to open and walk through any door they approach.

We GET TO do this; let’s do this for ALL students.