It had only been a year since I had first met Prof. Miller and joined the Chamber Singers,  and yet I felt as though I had lost a good friend when I heard of his death.

Bruce had a unique style of bringing out the best in his students; oftentimes it would be best described as tough love, but after conditioning our nerves of steel, he would always remind us how proud he was. We were, after all, doing a service to the Holy Cross community and to the composers who sought to express their musical thoughts.

And every individual was an asset. Because of his encouraging affirmations, I felt that my time working with him was definitely well spent and that I was a valued member of the group. I believe I speak for many others when I say this.

Bruce had an uncanny way of making the music come to life. "This is a piece I believe in,"he asserted one day in choir rehearsal as we went through Edward Elgar's For the Fallen.
"I never select pieces I don't believe in."He would go on to describe why the message Elgar attempted to convey was so real to him: "a mother for…her…children"  was to be sung in a staccato fashion like a mother sobbing over the deaths of her precious ones. "We will remember them," a very simple phrase, was to be sung with subdued reverence for the brave men who lost their lives defending their country. Of course, Bruce was always a stickler for precision and accuracy. A few times he would lightly mock us saying, "I don't want to think; that will spoil the moment. I just want to feel it. Well, I'm telling you, COUNT!!" There was one exception, though: he told us to just "feel" the grace note at one of the climaxes of For the Fallen. (We were reminded, of course, to control our climaxes).

Overall, working with Bruce in the College Choir and the Chamber Singers was an incredible experience for me this past year. It brought me to a whole new level of appreciation of fine music, and his inspiration motivated me further to strive for the best in myself.

Thanks for everything you've done, Bruce. We're all going to miss you here, but I'm sure you're in a place where you deserve to be. You've got the choirs of angels to conduct now - I'm sure they won't disappoint you.

Rest in peace, Bruce.