Music and Poetry for Sustainable Communities: A Dialogue with Andy Bruck

On the left, Andy Bruck, violinist with the Jacksonville (Florida) Symphony, and on the far right, his educational project partner, Richard Cuff. At the center are the three winning students who were announced during an event at Jacksonville University. The photo was published in a local newspaper. Andy generated the POETRY graphic at the top using CANVA AI.

During the CEIN Concept Dialogue on Saturday, April 25, at 2 PM, Andrew "Andy" Bruck will present an example of how people working together in a community focused on the arts can speak for change. During his presentation, he will play the soundtrack that was copyrighted this year, where poetry and music come together.

Please join us by registering. Not available on April 25 at 2 PM EDT? Everyone who registers will receive a copy of the recording.

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/1_-1LKHqRs-_uyLC8Xf23g#/registration

Andrew Bruck is a longtime supporter of Earth Charter International and value-creating education. In 2023, he won a Jacksonville (Florida) University Climate Innovation Challenge Grant that funded a poetry contest for Duval County high school students on the subject of the climate crisis. It culminated with a presentation by the winning poem being set to a soundtrack composed by a film composer and recorded locally by professional musicians.

Here's his short biography.

At five years of age, Andrew Bruck attended a symphony concert in Rock Island, Illinois, featuring a violin soloist. He immediately wanted to learn to play violin and began private lessons at the age of six.  

Pursuing a music career, he obtained his Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University in 1983 and his Master of Music degree at the Yale School of Music in 1985. While at Yale, he met and later married Cynthia Kempf, who was there earning her Master's in Viola Performance.  

  Andy and Cindy performed together in the Westbrook String Quartet for over 20 years, receiving intensive training with the Tokyo, Manhattan, Juilliard, and Vermeer string quartets, and held faculty residencies at Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas, and Youngstown State University, Ohio.  They also held a summer faculty residency at the Bay View Music Festival in northern Michigan from 1993 to 2007.  

After their Quartet Residency in Ohio ended, Andrew earned a position in the Jacksonville Symphony in 1993.  He and Cynthia, who subsequently won a seat in the viola section, both remain employed with the Symphony.  

Since 2002, Andrew has been active as a music teacher, volunteering as a class violin instructor at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School and teaching in the Jump Start Strings Initiative at Woodland Acres Elementary School. He also taught daycare programs at All About Kids,  the Deerwood Academy, and Torah Academy.  

In the community realm, Andy belongs to the Buddhist organization SGI-USA, serves as President of American Federation of Musicians Local 444, and has been involved in the United Nations Association-USA for many years.