Bruce Edward Holder Sr. (January 8, 1905 – August 27, 1987) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, conductor, and

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist. He helped to conduct, teach, and found many music groups, including

Symphony New Brunswick Symphony New Brunswick is the largest classical music organization in the province of New Brunswick. It is based in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. The orchestra was founded in 1983 following the demise of the Halifax-based Atlantic Symphony Or ...

, the

New Brunswick Youth Orchestra The New Brunswick Youth Orchestra, NBYO for short, (french: L’orchestre des jeunes du Nouveau-Brunswick, OJNB) is a youth orchestra based in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Founded in 1965, the orchestra has approximately 80 members from acr ...

,"New Brunswick Youth Orchestra"
''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and the Third Field Artillery Band, which earned him his nickname, Mr. Music of Saint John.

Early life and education

Holder was born in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of Ki ...

. He took violin lessons as a child, and later studied conducting in Hancock, Maine, under Pierre Monteaux.

Career

Holder worked at the Ocean Steel and Construction Company. In 1948 Holder was a volunteer with the Saint John Salvage Corps. For fifteen years, beginning in the 1940s, he led the

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

orchestra for the programs ''Holiday for Strings'', ''Music Styled for Strings'', and ''Fanfare''. 1945 he opened a record store in Saint John. In 1950 Holder became first violinist of the Saint John Symphony Orchestra."Dealer Doings" In 1957 he began teaching music at Saint John Vocational School, and in 1967 he was assistant conductor of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra.

References

External links

Bruce Holder
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holder, Bruce 1905 births 1987 deaths Canadian male composers Male conductors (music) Canadian classical violinists Male classical violinists Musicians from Saint John, New Brunswick 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) 20th-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers Canadian male violinists and fiddlers