Biography

Judy Bruce, pianist and composer, received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in piano performance from Carnegie Mellon University and her Master of Music degree in music education from Youngstown State University. Her major piano teachers include Vivien Rivkin, Adele Marcus, Blanche Abrams, Harry Franklin, and Robert Hopkins.  Her composition teachers include David Stock and Erberk Eryilmaz.

She has been actively composing works in many different instrumental genres, including solo instrumental works, duets, quartets, quintets, choral pieces, orchestral works and many other instrumental combinations. Her works have been performed at universities across the country including Carnegie Mellon University and Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA, Youngstown State University in OH, Eckerd College in Fl., Seton Hill College in PA, Indiana University of PA, Suny University in Pottsdam, NY, Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, and at many local venues in Pa and Ohio.

Her orchestral piece, “Changes,” was chosen in 2011 for a public reading session by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The Renova Music Festival of New Castle, PA has performed five of her works: “Celebration, for Piano and Orchestra,” “Sonata for Flute and Piano,” “Tecate, for Violin and Piano, “A Minute’s Pause, for Solo Violin,” and “Awakenings for Chamber Orchestra”.

The College Music Society has selected four of her works to be played abroad.  Her piano duet, “Motions,”  was performed in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2013.  They selected her violin and piano piece, “Tecate,” to be played in Sydney, Australia in 2017.  Her piano, flute and soprano piece, “Aussie Echoes,”  was performed in Brussels, Belgium in July, 2019, and recently, her piano duet “Circle of Life” was selected by them to be played in Columbia, South America in 2022.

Nationally, other awards include her piano solo, “The Linden Tree,” also chosen by the College Music society and performed  at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington in 2018.  Her piano duet, “Comin’ Home,” was selected to be played at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA by The Society of Composers.