(Frank) Neely Bruce (born January 21, 1944) is an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

, and

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

of American music. He is the composer of over 800 works including three full-length operas. Currently, he is John Spencer Camp Professor of Music and

American Studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, History of the United States, history, Society of the United States, society, and Culture of the Unit ...

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

, where he has taught since 1974.

Life and career

Bruce's undergraduate degree is from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...

. His

DMA DMA may refer to: Arts * ''DMA'' (magazine), a defunct dance music magazine * Dallas Museum of Art, in Texas, US * BT Digital Music Awards, an annual event in the UK * Danish Music Awards * Detroit Music Awards * Doctor of musical arts, a degree ...

is from the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

. Bruce also received an MAA from Wesleyan University and an MMU from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaig

His principal teachers were Ben Johnston (composer), Ben Johnston, Hubert Kessler, J. F. Goossen, Lara Hoggard,

Charles Hamm Charles Edward Hamm (April 21, 1925 – October 16, 2011) was an American musicologist, writer, composer, and music educator. He is credited with being the first music historian to seriously study and write about American popular music. He also w ...

, Byrnell Figler, Roy McAllister,

Soulima Stravinsky Sviatoslav Igorevich Soulima Stravinsky (23 September 191028 November 1994) was a Swiss-American pianist, composer, and musicologist. As a pianist, he was considered an important interpreter of the works of his father, Igor Stravinsky, but as a ...

and

Sophia Rosoff Sophia Rosoff (January 26, 1924 - November 22, 2017) was an American pianist and educator, and a founder of the Abby Whiteside Foundation. She was a co-editor of the reprinted collection of Abby Whiteside's writings, along with Joseph Prostakoff. ...

. Bruce was one of the seven keyboard players in the 1969 premiere of

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...

's HPSCHD. He has been visiting professor and artist-in-residence at

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...

, the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, and at

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

. He was the founder and director of the American Music/Theatre Group, chorus director for the

Connecticut Opera Connecticut Opera was a professional, non-profit, opera company based in Hartford, Connecticut, and a member of OPERA America. The company presented three fully staged opera productions during an annual season. It was founded in 1942 under the di ...

, and was director of music at South Congregational Church in

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles (25.749504 km) south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. Middletown is the largest city in the L ...

. He is the first pianist ever to play the entire song oeuvre of

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, actuary and businessman. Ives was among the earliest renowned American composers to achieve recognition on a global scale. His music was largely ignored d ...

. He performed with several singers as part of the Ives Vocal Marathon.

Works

Bruce has written more than 800 works, including three full-length operas, choral works in all major genres, orchestral works, chamber music, a voluminous quantity of piano music, and music for mixed media, including seven documentary scores for public television. He has also written a variety of music for young people, including a new adaptation of the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...

fairy tale

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch ...

, which uses American popular music, such as

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

, and

rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

''Flora'', ''Hansel and Gretel'', and ''Americana, or A New Tale of the Genii''

''Flora'' is an opera in two acts and six scenes based on the libretto and surviving tunes of what is thought to be the first piece of musical theater performed in colonial North America. The historical work premiered in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

in 1735, and played again at the newly built Dock Street Theatre in 1736. The modern score was commissioned by the

Spoleto Festival USA Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of America's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due ...

and premiered by the company on May 29, 2010, to celebrate the reopening of the new Dock Street Theatre. Writing for the ''New York Times'',

James R. Oestreich James Ruben Oestreich (born 1943) is a classical music critic for ''The New York Times'', where he has written about music since 1989. He grew up in Wisconsin. Career Oestreich has held earlier posts as music critic at ''American Record Guide'', ...

praised the work and performance, stating: Bruce "did a remarkable job . . . evoking the musical world of the 18th century . . . the rest of the production is of similarly high quality." "Mr. Bruce conducted, from the harpsichord, members of the festival orchestra and a strong cast." (
complete live recording
of the work can be found online at NPR's ''World of Opera''.) ''Hansel and Gretel'', an opera in two acts and nine scenes, based on a libretto adapted by the composer from the

, was commissioned by Connecticut Opera and premiered by the company on March 20, 1998, in Hartford, Connecticut. The company toured a condensed version for children in 1997. In an enthusiastic review of the full premiere, ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is advertised as the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven and ...

'' music critic Steve Metcalf commented on Bruce's creating a new operatic ''Hansel and Gretel'':

“temerity has never been a problem for Neely Bruce . . . by blending a careful fidelity to the original Grimm story with his own manic imagination, he composerhas created a clever and deeply entertaining new operatic journey into the woods . . . in a dizzying range of musical styles . . . about as far away from Engelbert Humperdinck as it would be possible to get. . . . ansel and Greteldanced, skipped, roller-skated, high- fived and also sang their way through their troubles with unfailing and non-cloying freshness."

''Americana, or, A New Tale of the Genii'', an opera in four acts, is based on a libretto adapted by

Tony Connor John Anthony Connor (born 1930) is an English poet and playwright. Biography Tony Connor was born in Manchester, England. After leaving school at 14, he served in the British Army as a tank gunner, and worked as a textile designer between 1944 and ...

from an anonymous 18th century source, which recounted the colonies' secession as allegorical parody. It was premiered in 1985 in a concert version by the American Music/Theatre Group, conducted by James Sinclair, in Hartford and Stamford, Connecticut, and New York City. Commenting on the premiere at

Symphony Space Symphony Space, founded by Isaiah Sheffer and Allan Miller, is a multi-disciplinary performing arts organization at 2537 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Performances take place in the 760-seat Peter Jay Sharp Theat ...

for the ''New York Times'',

Will Crutchfield Will Crutchfield (born 1957) is an American conductor, musicologist, and vocal coach. He is the founding Artistic and General Director of Teatro Nuovo, a company that presented its inaugural season in the summer of 2018 at Lincoln Center's Freder ...

wrote:

Bruce's new score "evinced its own quirky appeal . . . Now Boyce and Arne, now Stravinskian “wrong-note” classicism, now modestly chaotic improvisation, then hymnody, bluegrass, blues . . . the concept f the workis one for which pastiche has meaning. . . . The piece is odd enough and lively enough to merit a fully professional production.”

''Circular 14: The Apotheosis of Aristides''

Bruce's two-hour oratorio ''Circular 14: The Apotheosis of Aristides'', for eight soloists, two choruses and large orchestra, was written to dramatized the life of

Aristides de Sousa Mendes Aristides de Sousa Mendes do Amaral e Abranches (; July 19, 1885 – April 3, 1954) was a Portuguese diplomat who is recognized in Portugal as a national hero for his actions during World War II. As the Portuguese consul-general in the French ...

, a Portuguese diplomat in Bordeaux during World War II who saved many people by issuing life-saving visas, in defiance of the Salazar regime. Neely states: "He has taught me that one person makes a big difference; that genuine courage can still be found; that you can do the right thing for the right reason; that you can suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune with grace and humility; and that the petty dictators of this world do not have the last word. He was a truly great man, and his story needs to be shouted from the rooftops." It received its first full-scale production in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

on January 27, 2018. An early version, orchestrated for chamber music forces, was premiered in Los Angeles on January 24, 2016. About the performance Eric A. Gordon writes: "Circular 14 contains music of great variety and often unearthly transcendence...One can compare it to the great masterpieces in this form."Eric A. Gordon, "Singing the Praises of a Portuguese Holocaust Hero"
''People's World''

References

External links

Official Website

Neely Bruce on Soundcloud

Video of Bruce's "The Bill of Rights" performed at the Newseum

"Celebrating the Bill of Rights in Song."
Bruce's ''The Bill of Rights'' performed at historic Faneuil Hall. YouthJournalism.org.

John Whiting discusses Bruce's rock cantata, ''The Plague.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Neely 1944 births Living people American male composers University of Alabama alumni University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign School of Music alumni Wesleyan University faculty Wesleyan University alumni Middlebury College faculty University of Michigan faculty Bucknell University faculty Brooklyn College faculty 20th-century American composers 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American composers 20th-century American pianists Experimental Music Studios alumni American male pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians