A. BRUCE FRAZIER … noted trumpeter, arranger, and bandleader. His lyrical tone quality and melodic phrasing has created a demand for his music at venues ranging from solo-concerts to conventions. His career, which spans more than 35-years, is rooted in the church. As a teenager, Mr. Frazier was hired to play trumpet as backup to the world renowned Bill Gaither Trio. Since then, his professional engagements have included live television performances such as the Inauguration of the Mayor of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Liberty Medal Ceremonies for former President Carter and Kim Dae-jung, former president of South Korea. Mr. Frazier’s solo work was featured on the television broadcast of funeral services for distinguished educator and philanthropist Ruth Wright Hayre.
Church remains central to Mr. Frazier’s career. The Philadelphia native has been trumpeter in residence, at the White Rock Baptist Church, in Philadelphia for nearly thirty years. Directs the instrumental ensemble for the 90 voice Festival of Hymns Choir, founded and directed by Harrilese D, Miles. He has performed at several national and local conventions, including the National Baptist Convention, USA, the North American Pastoral Musicians Association, the, South Eastern Pennsylvania United Methodist Conference, Thomas A. Dorsey Convention, Lott Carey Foreign Mission Conference and The Episcopal Tribunal
Much of Mr. Frazier’s musical passion is devoted to the music contracting company Grace Notes Incorporated, founded in 1994. Mr. Frazier leads, arranges music and performs with several small music ensembles that bear the Grace Note name. Grace Notes(1993) is an ensemble of church musicians that performs sacred music creatively, with the rhythmic style and harmonic sounds of the African American culture. The Grace Note All-Star Jazz Ensemble (2000), an ensemble of senior master musicians, promotes health and wellness through music. The band has presented more than three hundred concerts at senior citizen events throughout Philadelphia. Grace Notes Inc. has produced two recordings of sacred music; In The Midst, and That Old Time Religion: Now and Then. Both recordings feature Mr. Frazier as trumpeter and arranger.
Numerous churches and organizations have sought out Mr. Frazier as a music consultant and advisor, including the American Baptist Churches (ABC), USA. As a result of this collaboration, Mr. Frazier performed live with the Grace Notes, on the ABC national telecast, Mission Advocates Commissioning and Celebration (Odyssey Network, September 1997). Mr. Frazier served on the advisory board of the Philadelphia Gospel Seminar, Inc.. He is currently serving a three-year term on the Board of Directors of the Settlement Music School Germantown Branch. Working with a music school is a natural fit, given his dedication to education; he currently offers private instruction and is the brass instructor at the Penn-Alexander Middle School. He served two years as adjunct trumpet instructor at Lincoln University in Oxford, PA. Before devoting his attention full-time to arranging and performing, Mr. Frazier taught mathematics in the Philadelphia Public Schools. He holds both a Bachelor of Science in Education and a Master of Education degree from Temple University.
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