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biography |
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| 1955 - 1964 1965 - 1974 1975 - 1988 |
| LIZZIE KIRBY 1978 Flying from Rocky Mountain House to New York undated |
| 1931 - 1954 | ||
| Bruce Clinton Haack was born
May 4, 1931 in Nordegg or Saunders Creek in the Province of Alberta, Canada. The area is on the eastern slopes of the Canadian rockies. Today the Nordegg Heritage Centre and Mine Site offers daily tours during summer. At some point the family moved to nearbye Rocky Mountain House. Bruce's father Clark Russell Haack (born in Montevideo, Minnesota)was an accountant for
the coal mining company, most likely the Brazeau Collieries , and his mother
whose maiden name was Bertha Ann Bell (from Novra, Mannitoba) was a schoolteacher. According to Bruce his life as a young child was isolated and somewhat lonely. There
were no easily travelled roads into our out of the mining town and the main event was a
train that came into the town once a week to pickup coal.One early recollection that Bruce
shared is of a light that is always glowing in front of a mining supply store.
Small picture of the house where Bruce was born at bottom of album cover. Note: File
size is 200 KB. He also said we in New York City didn't know the meaning of the word SNOW! Bruce was very proud of his Canadian roots and of his parents. After arriving in New York City in 1954 he only returned to the Rocky Mountain House area for visits.
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Bruce showed musical abilities at a very early age at the familiy piano
apparenly picking out melodies at the piano at age 3 or 4. By age 12 he was giving piano lessons and later organized country & western bands. Later he used "country" music harmonic and rhythmic patterns in many of his records for children (which were really for adults also). Bruce applied to the University of Alberta
in Edmonton to study music he was rejected because he couldn't notate, or write down,
music well enough.
After graduation from Edmonton he received a Canadian government scholarship to attend
the Julliard School in New York City to study composition with Vincent Persichetti. A tape
was sent of a composition of Bruces to Juilliard that somehow led to the scholarship. What
composition that was submitted is not known. In 1954 Bruce arrived in New York City in as
he put it, "with a chicken sandwhich and 60 dollars".
He dropped out of Julliard's composition program in 8 months. But his musical efforts
were to continue full force after Julliard.
LINKS |
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| Some of Bruce's childhood experiences provide material for his musical works. For example, Captain Entropy has a selection entitled Walking Eagle . Here Bruce narrates his recollection of an indian council meeting that went on for days near his home town. For the listener the experience is a rare glimpse into life in the Canadian Rockies and the recollections of a young boy. | ||
| 1955 - 1964 1965 - 1974 1975 - 1988 | ||
© Lucky Hill Productions   |
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