He composed the music of Singin' Billy: A Folk Opera (1952), possibly his best known work, with Donald Davidson writing the libretto or text.
With George Pullen Jackson, he wrote the text American Folk Music for High School and other Choral Groups.
In 2011, the School of Music at TTU hosted his biographer and members of Bryan's family in a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the composer's birth.
TTU awarded a research grant to Director of Orchestras, Professor Dan Allcott, to create a Bryan archive[2] at the university's library.
Allcott also created a modern performing edition of Bryan's "Bell Witch Cantata" which had been premiered by Robert Shaw at Carnegie Hall in 1947.