Other Lives is a continuing series of posts about choir members. In this edition, we are pleased to feature Bruce McCulloch.
In the Choir
Bruce McCulloch sings Baritone and has been in Nova Voce for 15 years. A stalwart member of the lower voice section, Bruce has also been involved in organizing the Spring Gala for a number of years, and helped sell the choir’s CDs for a time.
We asked how he joined the choir in the first place. The ways people join are always varied and interesting. In 2008, Bruce’s son joined Nova Voce, under the student sponsorship program when he was in Grade 11. Bruce took him to a rehearsal at which auditions were also being held. In his words Bruce “was blown away at the beautiful sound of four-part male harmonies.” That inspired Bruce to audition as well.
When asked what has kept him in the choir, he made it very clear that, over and above the camaraderie, it is the music that drew him and has continued to draw him to Nova Voce for 15 years. Bruce points to the Jazz numbers – Hymn to Freedom and Misty – that he has especially enjoyed. Bruce also enjoys singing the emotive pieces such as Sure on This Shining Night, Let Me Fish Off Cape St. Mary and Red River Valley. His list includes some of the choir’s favourites, Celtic music, such as Danny Boy, Loch Lomond and pieces by Mark Sirett, and great Canadian folk songs such as Lightfoot’s Canadian Railway Trilogy, Robbie Smith’s Shipyard Shanty, and Stan Roger’s Frobisher Bay. Bruce also has good things to say about Nova Voce’s sacred music, such as It is Well with My Soul.
Bruce narrowed his best Nova Voce memories to just two, though he has enjoyed the choir every year. The first is Nova Voce’s trip to Italy in 2012 where the choir performed in many spectacular locations including the Pantheon. The initial focal point of the trip was Europa Cantat, where Bruce and the rest of Nova Voce joined with other choirs from around Europe to learn and then perform Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concert. This incredible music was an experience Bruce will never forget. The second special event was performing Stan Roger’s Bluenose for the first time at St. John’s Church in Lunenburg, where Bruce’s parents were married, and where Bruce attended many services as a boy, under the watchful eye of his grandparents. It was a very emotional experience to have the sense of family in his midst as Nova Voce sung that song that day.
Outside of the Choir
We don’t ask too much information about personal lives, but Bruce has three adult children (in Montreal, Toronto and San Francisco) and one grandchild, and has recently remarried and settled in the Lunenburg area. When asked when he got his start in choral music, Bruce reached back to his early years. He sang in St. Jude’s Church Boys’ Choir in Oakville Ontario when he was 10 and then after his voice changed, he joined Tempus Youth Choir in high school – again in Oakville. Tempus was an intimate SATB singing group of just twelve students.
Typical of many of our choir members, Bruce is modest about his talents. He occasionally strums the guitar, but restricts himself to campfire type settings – knowing that he should never play in public! He spends a fair bit of time with spreadsheets, but he hastens to add that one could hardly call that a talent! Though he doesn’t do it anymore, he was a canoeist in his younger years, having done back-country trips up to three weeks in length.
Bruce has been an Energy Consultant, facilitating sustainable energy deployment, with his own company (MCC Energy Strategies Inc.) since 2016. His expertise in this area has had him do feasibility studies for municipal buildings and condos as well as Solar Education for Solar Nova Scotia. Currently he is preparing EV Ready plans to enable installation of chargers in multi-unit residential buildings. Before becoming a consultant, he held many positions in industry – from the oilfields of the Middle East, to manufacturing in Ontario and Nova Scotia, to aircraft engineering and facilities management.
We asked what he is most looking forward to in 2025. In addition to singing with Nova Voce, Bruce can’t wait to welcome his family to his new place in Lunenburg. Though Bruce and Mary bought their home last spring, there were several significant renovations that needed to be done. The home is now ready to receive visitors. The other important activity will be a trip to San Francisco in April to visit his son and granddaughter.
We asked Bruce to tell us if those who know him were to describe him in one or two sentences, what would they say? That’s a difficult one for a lot of people to answer. “No idea what people would say – I suppose it would depend on the person!” said Bruce.
Well, we know that might be true, but since he has left this open for someone to jump in, we decided to say that Bruce is everything that epitomizes Nova Voce. He is dedicated and not just to the choir. One can read from his previous comments that family is central to his life. That makes him pretty good to know, wouldn’t you think?
Finally, we asked if he had a motto to live by. He didn’t give us a motto but Bruce did state that two values that he feels are extremely important is to treat others with kindness and respect (even when faced with someone with whom he disagrees).
Thanks very much Bruce for telling us about your life outside of the choir.
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