Bruce is an award-winning composer and an avid performer on both electric and
acoustic bass. He grew up in Arkansas and was playing blues on Memphis’ famous
Beale Street by the age of 21. At the age of 25, he received a “Talent Scholarship†from Berklee College of Music based on his instrumental performance as well as his
compositions. While in Boston, Bruce studied with composers John Bavicchi, Thomas J.
McGah, Arthur Welwood, and bassists Barry Smith and Anthony Vitti. Bruce graduated
Summa Cum Laude from Berklee with a Bachelor of Music Composition degree.
In October 2002, his string quartet Micromovements was awarded a performance by
the Esterhazy Quartet as part of a composition contest at Berklee College of Music.
Between 2003 and 2005, Bruce focused his efforts in teaching privately and maintained a
roster between 35 and 40 students. In the fall of 2005, he entered the University of
Tennessee as a graduate teaching assistant in music theory. While attending the
University of Tennessee, he was honored with a multitude of performances through
conferences sponsored by the College Music Society, Southeastern Composers League,
and the Society of Composers, Inc. In February of 2006, he was honored with an Award
of Merit for Outstanding Student Composition at the College Music Society Southern
Chapter Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His solo electric bass piece Fantasia for
Electric Bass was awarded a performance at the Society of Composers, Inc. National
Conference in February 2008. Later that month, his chamber orchestra work Waves of
Light was honored with a performance at the College Music Society Super Regional
Conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
In May 2008, Bruce completed his Masters degree in Composition under the
direction of Dr. Kenneth Jacobs at the University of Tennessee. While in Knoxville, he
was the resident composer of the University of Tennessee Studio Orchestra and received
numerous commissions by the orchestra. He also studied jazz composition with Donald
Brown, jazz piano with Jerry Coker, and acoustic bass with Rusty Holloway. Most recently, Bruce has accepted a full tuition scholarship to the University of Miami's Frost School of Music. For the next 3 years, he will be working towards his doctorate in Music Composition. Keep your eyes open...you might just see him tearing up the electric bass in a venue around Miami.Check out his personal myspace:
myspace.com/brucehurleyjohnstonSong INFO from the source: The "Abstract Fusion" bass solo came from a live performance with the Cheating Spoon band at the University of Tennessee Music Hall. "Earthbound Magic" (2003) just came out of me...I've created another arrangement of it that really cooks, but I don't have a good recording of it YET. "Fantasia for Electric Bass" is my little E Bass ditty...It is a live performance from the same concert as the Abstract Fusion solo. "Ghost Town", "For You My Heart Beats" and "Final Flight of the Raven" are live performances by me with the University of Tennessee Studio Orchestra. Welcome to my musical scrapbook:)
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Excerpt from Fantasia for Electric Bass - Bruce Hurley Johnston
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