What’s Your Secret Sauce: The Heart Behind the Harmony

Professor Bruce Rogers is the Choral Director Emeritus at Mt. San Antonio College, in Walnut, California, where he oversaw the department’s various vocal and choral programs, which span the entire spectrum of music – from classical to jazz.  He personally directed Mt. San Antonio College’s award-winning Chamber Singers and the elite vocal jazz ensemble, Singcopation.

Choirs under his direction have achieved top ranking in national and international competitions throughout the world, including performances in Concert Halls throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, China, Scotland, Wales, England, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, South Africa, Slovenia, Slovakia and China.  Mr. Rogers' choirs have had the honor of performing at eight California State Conventions, a record setting fifteen American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Regional and National Conventions as well as performing at three International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) National Conventions and a 2017 performance at the Jazz Education Network (JEN) Conference.  In the year 2001, Mr. Rogers became the first choral director in United States history to have two different choirs perform at both the IAJE National Convention and the ACDA National Convention, and in 2005, he achieved this special honor once again.  In 2017 he again had two different choirs perform at both the JEN National Conference in New Orleans and the ACDA National Convention in Minneapolis. 

Mr. Rogers’ guest conducting ventures outside of the United States, includes conducting at the AMIS International Honor Band and Choral Festival hosted by the International School at The Hague in the Netherlands, conducting at the ACCET Choral Conductor’s Workshop held in Melbourne, Australia, guest conducting the music of Franz Joseph Haydn in Vienna and Budapest with a Festival Choir and Orchestra honoring the 200^th Anniversary of Haydn’s death, and was the headline clinician and guest conductor at the Australian National Choral Association (ANCA) Convention in Port Macquarie, Australia.  He has guest conducted the New York Chamber Orchestra and Festival Chorus at Carnegie Hall on nine different occasions and has performed by special invitation at Lincoln Center. 

Mr. Rogers has presented lectures, adjudicated, or conducted both classical and vocal jazz All-State and Collegiate Honor Choirs in twenty-eight states, the British Isles, Canada, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Australia, and the Netherlands.

For his many achievements, Mt. SAC presented Professor Rogers with its prestigious “Faculty Member of the Year” award and the “Burning Bright” award, the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO) honored him in 2023 with their Lifetime Achievement Award, the Upland Community Foundation honored him as a recipient of their 2010 "Spotlight Award" for Outstanding Educator, in 2013 he was awarded the "CMEA Pearson-Silver Burdett Choral Educator Award" honoring excellence in choral education and performance, and in 2014 he received the California Music Educators Association’s “Outstanding Music Educator’s Award”. 

Performance Highlights Include:

• 15 American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) National and Regional Conference performances.
• 8 California State Convention performances.
• 9 European tours.
• Winners of two platinum medals at the "Xinghai Prize International Choir Championships" in Guangzhou, China.
• Winners of three Gold Medals at the “World Choir Games” in Tshwane, South Africa.
• Winners of the prestigious Pavarotti Trophy and the title of Choir of the World at the “International Musical Eisteddfod Competition” in Wales.
• First Place award winners at the “Grand Prix Choir Competition” in Varna, Bulgaria.
• First Place award winners at the "American International Choral Competition", held in Reno, Nevada.
• First Place award winners at the "Grand Prix of Nations" choral competition in Magdeburg, Germany.
• The Lady Dorothy Mayer Memorial Trophy for ‘Best Performance’ at the “Cork International Choral Festival” in Cork, Ireland
• Headline performance at the” Canadian Rocky Mountain Music Festival” in Banff.
• Headline performance at the "Australian National Choral Association Convention" in Port Macquarie.
• Headline performances on the Carnegie Hall Stage in New York City on eight different occasions.
• Performance of “Star Wars in Concert” to sell-out audiences at the Honda Center and the Nokia Theater.
• Numerous performance tours throughout the United States and Canada.
• A special performance in New York City at the National Action Network Conference (NAN)

• Three-time winners of the Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival in Monterey, CA.
• Three performance invitations as guest artists at the prestigious Monterey Jazz Festival.    
• 17 time winner of the Downbeat Magazine award as the number one two-year college vocal jazz group in the United States.
• 5 time winner of the Downbeat Magazine award for “Outstanding Performance”.   
• Invitational performances at the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) Conventions, in New York City, Toronto, and in Long Beach.
• Invitational performance at the Jazz Education Network (JEN) National Conference in New Orleans. 
• Opening act for the "Real Group" at the Apollo Theater in New York City.
• Headline performers at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, with special guest artist Darmon Meader.