Bruce Smith
Many times in his career Bruce Smith has been a guest jazz clinician for school boards and music festivals in Ontario from Cornwall to Windsor. In addition, Bruce has adjudicated in many festivals right across the country from Vancouver to Quebec City. He co-ordinated the Southwestern Ontario Regional of what was the Canadian Stage Band Festival and became MusicFest Canada for 10 years, from 1980 to 1990, staging the event in St. Thomas at Arthur Voaden Secondary School and in co-ordination with A.J. D'Amico at Vincent Massey in Windsor. Bruce was the Chairman of the Adjudication Committee for Scholarships for MusicFest Canada at the national level from 1986 to 1990.
From 1975 until 1990 Bruce was the head of the very rewarding, but busy music program at Arthur Voaden in St. Thomas, Ontario. This unbelieveable program boasted some of the best bands in the country, participated in extensive international travel and, for a period from 1981 to 1885 played an incredible 100 concerts a year. At Voaden he also facilitated and hosted a series of very successful non-competitive Jazz Festivals which brought in some of the bigger names in jazz composition to adjudicate and work with the bands.
The bands at Voaden won many classes (big band, modern jazz combo, dixieland) in those Canadian Stage Band festival days when the competition was not against a standard as it is today but rather the goal was to try to determine the best band in the country. They were guest artists at the Michigan State Division One State Jazz Band Finals in Novi, Michigan and at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario, the MIAC Trade Show in Toronto, the Faculty of Education at the University of Western Ontario, and many other events. The band performed many times at the Detroit Montreux Jazz Festival, including once as the opening act in front of the GM World Headquarters. They were the first Canadian high school band to play at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
Bruce has also worked extensively at the elementary school level where his bands quickly became a Gold level bands at MusicFest Canada and other local festivals. The elementary bands competed well in local Kiwanis Festivals in the senior high school band classes.
Currently, Bruce enjoys the rewarding position as the director of the Jazz Ensemble at the University of Western Ontario. The band plays several times each year in the London area. The repertoire features the best available Canadian and American works and a steady flow of newly-minted student compositions. While at Western Bruce has also participated in the Music and Medicine lectures series. With co-lecturer, Dr. Martyn Judson, he presented "Bebop Blues: Jazz Musicians and Substance Abuse" and with co-lecturer, Dr. Chris Watling he presented "I Got Plenty of Headaches: Gershwin's Brain Tumour."
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