
About Bruce
Bruce is a seasoned music educator with a master's degree in secondary music education from the University of Alberta. He offers online lessons in composition, piano, trumpet, ear training, harmony, music theory, and more. With 30 years of high school teaching experience and professional orchestra performances, Bruce creates a nurturing environment for students to find their musical voice. His expertise spans curriculum writing and scoring music for films, making him a versatile guide for aspiring musicians worldwide.
BOOK AN INTERVIEW WITH BRUCE NOW
Since I was four years old I knew music would be part of who I am. Sharing the gift of appreciating and creating music helps us understand each other better and in turn we begin the journey to understand ourselves through this amazing art form.
Name: Bruce (Full name will be provided upon registration)
Age: 60's
Gender: male
I have a masters degree in secondary music education from the University of Alberta and have taught high school music for 30 years. I attended the Banff School of Fine Arts and studied under the former principal trumpet of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. I have played professionally in Prince George, Calgary and Edmonton Orchestras. I have written the music curriculum for B.C and Yukon as well as the Composition and Technology curriculum. One of the highlights of my performing career was to play and speak with the Prince of Wales at a Unesco World Heritage site. The other highlight of my teaching career was to guide and watch students learn how to create and make their own music and know the joy that that brings.
As a group teacher in a school setting I have received Gold standing at a National level in instrumental ensemble performance.
I spent my life trying emulate some of the greatest musicians and when I arrived in Banff surrounded by some of the best players in North America at the time I realized I needed to find my own voice and at that point in time I truly began to grow as I stopped comparing myself to others and began to developed the best version of me. So my super power is really listening and creating a space where students that I teach focus on being the best versions of themselves. At this time I spend most of my time scoring music for short films as a composer in the neo-classical realm which is great for many genres of film.
English
Rates and Studio Policies
Registration Fee: $25.00 (One-time lifetime registration fee may be used by all family members)
Rates for instruction:
30 minute private lesson: $39.00
45 minute private lesson: $49.00
60 minute private lesson: $59.00
Travel charge: additional $15.00 per visit (for lessons in a client's home as opposed to my studio)
1. Cancellation Policy
Lessons not cancelled or rescheduled with at least 24 hours notice are billable to the client and payable to the teacher. This does not of course apply to travel fees unless the notice is effectively given at the door and the teacher has travelled to the location.
2. Cessation (quitting) Policy
A client must provide a 2 lesson notice period to stop lessons. So a weekly student needs to give 2 weeks of notice, a biweekly student works out to 3 weeks notice and a twice weekly student works out to a week of notice.
3. Illness Policy
Lessons cancelled due to illness or extraordinary circumstances with less than 24 hours notice remain billable to the client and payable to the teacher.
BAH teachers are encouraged to offer a make-up lesson at a future date in the interest of client relations and general goodwill. This only makes sense as teaching a student with the flu for example, will ruin the rest of your week's employment.
No more than 2 lessons may be made up due to illness within a 60 day period.
4. Rescheduling Policy
Any lesson can be cancelled or rescheduled with at least 24 hours notice.
Summer Vacation and Extended Absence Policy
Clients may schedule longer absences for trips etc. 24 hours notice is required.
It is normal and typical for students and about 20% of our teachers to schedule a break in the summer. We do not enforce a notice period (see cessation of lessons) at the end of a long summer break.
5. Evaluation Period
There are no free trial lessons with Beethoven at Home but we do offer a 2 lesson evaluation period where it is easy to try out a teacher. There are no free lessons during the evaluation period and clients may choose to discontinue the lessons at any time by providing the required 24 hours notice. After the student's 3rd lesson the required 2 lesson notice period will apply (see cessation of lessons above).
Online lessons
Bruce can provide online instruction. While other platforms are possible BAH strongly recommends the use of the Zoom video conferencing platform as it is optimized for music lessons and audio quality.