MCO Selects Next Music Director: Daniel Bruce of East Montpelier
After a year-long audition and trial period, the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra (MCO) is pleased to announce that it has appointed a new Music Director: Daniel Bruce of East Montpelier. Mr. Bruce will lead the orchestra’s musical programming and provide leadership for the nearly 30 year-old, local institution.
After a slow return to in-person performances, local music critic Jim Lowe of the Time Argus Newspaper said of Bruce’s work with the orchestra during the Fall 2023 concert at Barre Opera House: “‘Perhaps the most beautiful performance was of Maurice Ravel’s beloved “Pavane for a Dead Princess.” Bruce blended the various parts of the orchestra together gently to create the sensual sounds of the tender masterpiece.’” And “the performance was brilliant and uplifting…The Montpelier Chamber Orchestra is indeed back!”
MCO Board Chair, Laura Fried (Waterbury Ctr), says of the appointment, “Dan connects effortlessly with our ensemble, providing a steady hand and charming wit, engaging our musicians at rehearsals and helping us to understand the composers’ ideas behind the music we are delving into. In this role Dan will help our organization enter our next chapter as we strive to be at the center of reviving the cultural dynamism of downtown Montpelier after the COVID pandemic and 2023 floods. Dan will develop energetic, relevant programming, brought to life on the stage at Lost Nation Theater at City Hall Arts Center, lead collaboration with other community arts organizations and bring a renewed commitment to our residency programming.”
Daniel Bruce says of his appointment, “I’m looking forward to working with the musicians of the MCO to return this ensemble to the forefront of the Vermont musical community. Together we will explore the great works of classic literature while discovering and hopefully sponsoring the creation of contemporary works.”
Daniel Bruce is a professional pianist and conductor who holds degrees from the Hartt School of Music and Northwestern University. Widely sought after as a performer and teacher, Mr. Bruce is Director of Music at Peoples Academy in Morrisville, and has been on the faculties of Hobart and William Smith Colleges as well as in the Northfield and Barre school systems.
Mr. Bruce is a highly versatile musician, with experience that ranges from solo and collaborative piano to music direction in nearly every genre, from classical to Broadway to jazz. His performing credits include an acclaimed performance of Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor with the Vermont Philharmonic, as well as two-piano concertos by Mozart and Poulenc (with Alison Cerutti). He has also performed Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra and with the Vermont Jazz Ensemble - the latter performance conducted from the piano, and the ensemble comprising the original Paul Whiteman instrumentation.
Bruce is founding music director of the BCSO, and has conducted several readings of orchestral masterworks with the Green Mountain Mahler Festival, and conducts the GMMF in annual New Year's Day performances of Beethoven's epic Ninth Symphony. He is a past conductor of the Vermont Philharmonic and Barre Choraleers, and has taught students of every age from preschoolers to retirees.