M.M., Choral Conducting, Claremont Graduate University
Doctoral studies at USC
Professional Profile:
Professor Bruce Rogers is the Director of Choral Activities at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California, a position he assumed in 1994. In this role, he oversees the department’s various vocal and choral programs, which span the entire spectrum of music – from classical to jazz. He personally directs Mt. San Antonio College’s award-winning Chamber Singers and the elite vocal jazz ensemble, Singcopation.
Choirs under his direction have won numerous awards and first place honors throughout the United States and Europe. Mr. Rogers' choirs have had the honor of performing at five California State Conventions, seven American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Regional and National Conventions as well as performing at three International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) National Conventions. They have achieved top ranking in national and international competitions throughout the world, including performances in Concert Halls throughout the United States, Canada, Scotland, Wales, England, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.
In the year 2001, Mr. Rogers became the first choral director in United States history to have two different choirs perform at both the IAJE National Convention and the ACDA National Convention, and he achieved this special honor once again in 2005 when his Chamber Singers performed at the ACDA National Convention in Los Angeles, California and his vocal jazz group “Singcopation” performed at the IAJE National Convention in Long Beach, California.
Mr. Rogers made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2003 conducting the New York Chamber Orchestra and the National Collegiate Festival Choir for a performance of Mozart’s Coronation Mass and in 2005 was invited back to Carnegie Hall to guest conduct a performance of the Faure Requiem with a Collegiate Festival Choir of over 240 voices. His most recent European guest conducting venture was an invitation to conduct at the AMIS International Honor Band and Choral Festival hosted by the International School at The Hague, in the Netherlands. In 2007, Professor Rogers was invited to conduct the ACDA National Two-Year College Honor Choir at the ACDA National Convention in Miami, the MENC Northwest Jazz Honor Choir in Portland, and a return engagement to guest conduct at both Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York City. Mr. Rogers has presented lectures, adjudicated, or conducted All-State and Collegiate Honor Choirs in Florida, Wyoming, New York, Nevada, California, Hawaii, Georgia, Washington, Oregon, Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona, Michigan, Texas, and Canada. This year he has been invited to guest conduct the Virginia and Oregon All-State Mixed Honor Choirs, the Arizona All-State Vocal Jazz Choir, along with special invitations to conduct in Minnesota, Idaho, Missouri, and Nevada.
This past summer, his Mt. SAC Chamber Singers were awarded the first place prize at the “International Competition For Choirs” in Spittal an der Drau, Austria and then traveled to Llangollen, Wales where they were awarded the title of “Choir of the World” by winning the prestigious Pavarotti Trophy at the “Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod Competition”. The Chamber Singers, under the direction of Professor Rogers, received a total of four first place awards while competing at the Eisteddfod competition, a feat never before accomplished by any choir in the competition’s sixty-one year history. In 2003, Mr. Rogers was awarded the prestigious “Best Conductor” prize at the “International Grand Prix Choral Competition” held in Varna, Bulgaria and his Chamber Singers received numerous first place awards, including the title of “Grand Prix Champions”. His vocal jazz group Singcopation won the 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 & 2006 Downbeat Magazine award as the number one college vocal jazz choir in the United States, and for his many achievements, Mt. SAC presented Professor Rogers with its prestigious “Faculty Member of the Year” award. He has recently signed with Gentry Music to publish the “Bruce Rogers Choral Series”.
Educationally, Mr. Rogers earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Connecticut, a master’s degree in choral conducting at Claremont Graduate University, and has undertaken doctoral studies at the University of Southern California.