Bruce May

BRUCE MAY SINGER-PERFORMER Folk music – traditional or composed song marked by simplicity of melody, stanzaic form and refrain. Webster’s Dictionary For over 25 years, audiences of all ages have enjoyed the traditional and contemporary folk songs of Bruce May. As an entertainer, Bruce enjoys sharing his music and stories with audiences of all ages. And, it is something that comes to him naturally. Bruce’s grandfather was the Assistant Conductor/First Violinist with the Oscar Hammerstein Orchestra in New York City in the early 20th century. During World War II, his father, a captain in the Army Air Corps, produced shows for the troops as a Special Services officer. Bruce also plays occasionally with his brother, Brian (not of Queen) at gigs in Connecticut. Bruce experienced the folk music resurgence in the 1960s and decided he wanted to become a part of it. How did he do it? Literally by sweeping the floors of a music store after school! A friend’s father owned a music store in his hometown of Manchester, Connecticut and when things were clean and slow, Bruce was given some introductory lessons on his Harmony 6 string acoustic guitar. The rest, as they say, is history. It wasn’t until 1988 when his son began kindergarten that Bruce was “forced” into performing publicly. A performer scheduled to perform at Colin’s kindergarten class cancelled and knowing “the show must go on,” Bruce stepped up to the plate and sang a few Raffi songs for the students at the Maple Street School in Rochester, New Hampshire. Bruce has continued to develop his style and artistry since that first performance. Like many other performers, Bruce’s style has evolved and grown to reflect his own growth and change. His early musical influences included Pete Seeger, Leadbelly, Peter, Paul and Mary and, of course, Woody Guthrie. Bruce has also embraced the singer-songwriters such as John Prine, Steve Goodman, John McCutcheon, Robert Earl Keen, Jr., Kate Wolfe and many more. His choice of songs is simple: Bruce will select songs that he likes and have special meaning to him and then share that with his audience. Performing is not Bruce’s full-time job, although he would love to do this. He is a high school special education teacher, working with students with emotional and behavioral disorders. It was a Kate Wolf song that he shared with one of his classes several years ago that made one of his most-disturbed and severely learning disabled students to comment that “You shou