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Scott Boerma (Portage, Michigan) is the Director of Bands at Western Michigan University. Before this appointment, Boerma was the Associate Director of Bands and Director of the Michigan Marching Band at the University of Michigan, the previous Director of Bands at Eastern Michigan University, and began his career teaching music in the Michigan public schools. Boerma earned his D.M.A. degree in wind conducting at Michigan State University and his M.M. degree in music education at the University of Michigan, where he studied composition with William Bolcom. Boerma received his B.M.E. from Western Michigan University.
Boerma is an elected member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association, an active band/orchestra conductor, adjudicator, and clinician, and serves as a guest conductor for several honor bands and community bands nationwide each year. Boerma also conducts the Detroit Chamber Winds Brass holiday concerts.
Many outstanding ensembles have performed Boerma’s concert band works, including “The President’s Own” Marine Band, the U.S. Navy Band, the Dallas Wind Symphony, the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, and the M.F.A. Honor Band of America. His works have been featured in the popular G.I.A. series, “Teaching Music Through Performance in Band,” and at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic.
Also, a prolific arranger, Boerma receives yearly commissions to write music for many university and high school marching bands and drum and bugle corps. Boerma has written arrangements for the Boston Pops and the Detroit Chamber Winds Brass. For twenty-four years, from 1989 to the present, Boerma has been the music arranger for the acclaimed Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps. In addition to many ensembles nationwide, most Big Ten university marching bands have performed Boerma’s arrangements.