Growing up with parents who had immigrated from Germany and were musically inclined, Dr. Allen Brings explored his interest in music, as his father would often show him recordings of great artists, noting the quality of their work over the years. Beginning piano lessons at the age of 7, Dr. Brings attended Queens College and achieved a Bachelor of Arts in 1955. Subsequently, he earned a Master of Arts from Columbia University in 1957, and later on, pursued coursework at Princeton University. In 1964, he earned a Doctor of Musical Arts from Boston University.
At the inception of his career in 1959, Dr. Brings served as an instructor of music at Bard College for one year before becoming a teaching fellow at Boston University from 1960 to 1962. In 1963, he began serving Queens College’s Aaron Copland School of Music as a professor of music until attaining emeritus status in 2001. He also excelled as the coordinator of the Theory and Ear Training Program at the Aaron Copland School of Music. During his tenure at Queens College, he was notably a teacher and associate director of the Weston Music Center and School of the Performing Arts for several decades.
Composing such works as “Sinfonia da Camera,” “Symphony,” “Trio,” “Five Pieces for Piano” and “Tre Sonetti” between 1954 and 2021, Dr. Brings has composed a total of 249 works of music, which can be found online on http://library.newmusicusa.org/ allenbrings and https://www.allenbringsmusic.com. Additionally, his compositions and performances are available for viewing on YouTube. Recently, Parma Records released a recording of Dr. Brings’ “Duo for Flute and Piano” in 2020 on its In Tandem disc and his “Three Lais for Solo Flute” on its Aero disc. Two of his recent performances of his “Duologue Five for Clarinet and Cello” in Perugia, Italy, are also available for audience viewing.
A member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers since 1975, Dr. Brings also maintained affiliation with the College Music Society, the Long Island Composers Alliance, the Christian Fellowship of Art Music Composers and the Society for Catholic Liturgy. He is a past chairman of Region II of the Society of Composers and a past vice president of Connecticut Composers. To attest to his success, Dr. Brings received the John Castellini Silver Jubilee Award from the Choral Society of Queens College in 1983. He has also been highlighted in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in Entertainment.
