First and foremost a lover of music, good food and radio – Mack is a Musician, Composer, Arts Educator and Youth Developer. Beside cooking, another joy is programming music which you can sample Free World Network Radio podcasts.
A vocalist and keyboardist, he is a member and organizer of the band Tricky Dilemma, a recording, touring and core member of Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber and has toured with Maya Azucena as a part of “The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad” tour. Mack is also former President of the Black Rock Coalition.
Mack’s career as a “Teaching Artist” has been a natural progression of a life immersed in music, a gift for communication and an enthusiasm for sharing his knowledge and love of music and music education.
From 1999 – 2008 Mack has been a music educator and Arts Program Coordinator at The Door, a multifaceted center for at-risk youth ages 12-21; where he mentored young, ambitious, musicians looking to enter the music business or just to escape the rigors of everyday life.
As the resident teaching artist at P.S.3 in the West Village of New York City his work was documented in the film “When Fried Eggs Fly” and resulted a song composed, performed and recorded by 162 kids, their parents and teachers.
He has developed curriculum, created and held music workshops, and implemented music & arts programming at various schools in all 5 boroughs of New York City in collaboration with Arts Connection and other organizations such as Henry Street Settlement, University Settlement, the Black Rock Coalition, and Hudson Repertory Dance Theatre in Jersey City.
As an in-demand speaker and guest teaching artist, Bruce shares his knowledge and enthusiasm with educators, students and musicians around the world.
For educators, he has created a series of lectures and workshops on the topics of:
- basic music education
- direction and encouragement to use music and other arts disciplines to teach academia.
- implementing individual teaching style and curriculum in teaching environments when standards must be met.
For children and parents, the goals are specifically to empower them with the knowledge that they have music and other art forms to use for alternative means of expression, realize the importance of community, and discover the joy in collaborative learning.
To learn more about Bruce’s teaching methods and workshops visit: The Educator’s Rhythym
