Brent Hairston has loved music for all his life. He began with piano lessons at age 5, and played trumpet through school and ultimately with the Texas A&M Symphonic Band until his graduation. During his college years, he discovered barbershop quartet and chorus singing and became enthralled with the sound the pure human voice could make. He was hooked from that day forward.
Brent has been a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society for 34 years. He has sung in numerous quartets over the years, including RINGSIDE, a well known Southwestern District (SWD) comedy quartet, as well as the Houston Tidelanders, a multi-year SWD champion chorus. From 2003 to 2005, he directed the Brazos Barbershoppers in Bryan/College Station, and from 2012 to 2017 directed the Acappella Texas chorus in Austin.
Professionally, Brent is a businessman and real estate developer. After owning and managing retail businesses from 1992 through 2008, Brent began Perry Properties which has overseen the renovation of three large buildings in Downtown Bryan, and the building of a fourth building, Perry Place, a 30,000 sqft building, which is the largest building built in Downtown Bryan in over 50 years.
Brent is also very active in his community. He has served on a variety of city boards and commissions, including the Bryan Brazos County Economic Development Foundation, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, the Historical Landmark Commission, and the Building and Standards Commission.
In 2018 Brent ran unopposed for Bryan City Council. Since his election, the Bryan City Council has successfully annexed 7000 acres of land, including 5,500 acres of land around and including the Texas A&M University System RELLIS Campus in western Brazos County, AND passed a $75M bond to support development of a regional park on the site of a previous municipal golf course in the heart of Bryan. He also now serves on 7 city related boards as a representative of Bryan City Council.
“Throughout my life, barbershop quartet and chorus singing has been a tremendous calming influence. Whenever I feel myself getting stressed, I go to chorus rehearsal and ring the heck out of a few chords. Whatever I was worried about tends to go away. It has had a profound influence on my life, and is something I will continue to do for the rest of my life.”
