Meet Bruce Wermuth

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bruce Wermuth.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in a family home where music was an integral part of life.  We were avid listeners and concertgoers of music encompassing a wide variety of musical genres.  We had record albums in the house representing just about every musical genre there is.  As live concertgoers, one week my family and I might attend a classical concert performed by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, or my mom’s beloved Milwaukee Florentine Opera Company, yet on other occasions, I heard live performances of great jazz groups like the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the Stan Kenton Band or Chick Corea.  I also attended concerts featuring some of the great popular music performers and songwriters of the day.  The rock band Chicago and singer/songwriter Stevie Wonder were two of my favorites.

Concurrent with all this “intake” of great music came the desire to actually learn to sing and play music myself very early on in grade school.  I was fortunate to have the opportunity to begin both private piano lessons and trumpet lessons through school band programs beginning in the fourth grade.  I also sang in school and church choirs, and, as a result, singing also became an important part of my musical identity. My parents nurtured and encouraged my musical growth all the way through high school, attending school wind ensemble concerts, jazz ensemble concerts, and piano recitals. They patiently tolerated my late-night trumpet and piano practicing and very late night weekend outings performing with rock bands until I headed off to college.  I ultimately got a music degree from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, and then a Master of Music Degree in Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media at the Eastman School of Music in New York.

After graduate school, I went on the road to play trumpet for singer/songwriter Paul Anka for about six months. Shortly thereafter, I was offered a job as a full-time studio singer for the commercial and broadcast music division of Media General in Memphis, TN, which I did for about four years. While there in Memphis, I got to work with a staff of wonderfully talented people—fantastic musicians, singers, and writers, which allowed me to hone my skills as a studio vocalist and instrumentalist during that time. We cranked out commercial and broadcast music full time, with vocal sessions in the day and instrumental sessions at night. I played lead trumpet on those evening instrumental recording sessions, and I also had the opportunity to play lead trumpet in jazz bands and on all the Broadway shows and Reviews that came through town. That meant playing for a whole bunch of legendary entertainers—Lena Horne, Tony Bennett, and Rosemary Clooney were among my favorites—also Motown acts like The Four Tops and the Temptations and “Philly Soul” acts like the O’Jays.  To have shared the stage with such great artists gave me a great “hands-on” education in American music. I was very fortunate to have had those opportunities.

After Memphis, I took a staff job here in Dallas as a music producer, initially writing commercial and corporate music and singing for TM studios, and that led to forming my own production company here in the Dallas area. So for the last 32 years, I’ve been here working as a music producer, writer, conductor, and studio singer.  It’s been a great ride.

Has it been a smooth road?
The road was smooth in that I’d had those many wonderful opportunities to both listen to and learn music since I was young, so I felt well prepared when I made the decision to try to cultivate a career in music.  Looking back now, having had a diverse set of musical experiences and skills to draw upon has been a major factor in any success I may have experienced to this point.

One challenge, however, came in learning how to cobble together my particular set of skills such that I might sustain that career and support my family.  Also, where might I be able to do this?  Ultimately, Dallas was the answer for me.

But having the desire to engage in a variety of musical roles for a living also begets its own challenge for myself, as well as many of us in the music business, namely maintaining a high level of performance as we trade one musical “hat” for another on any given day or week.  It’s tempting to spread oneself too “thin” amongst projects, so learning one’s limits in a labor-intensive profession and learning to manage time is important.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
Currently, I have my own production company, Melicus Enterprises, Inc., where I work here in the Dallas area for clients all over the world on a broad spectrum of musical projects as a composer/arranger, songwriter, producer, conductor, teacher, and as a studio vocalist, and in a variety of live performance settings.  I’ve written a lot of music for broadcast, corporate/industrial shows, concerts and church services, among other things.  Every project is different, so I try to bring a uniquely creative perspective to each one.

Through my work for live corporate shows and other concert settings, I’ve had the privilege to work with many wonderful artists over the years.  Sandi Patty, The Dixie Chicks, Alabama, Ronnie Milsap, Randy Bachman, The Smothers Brothers, Gary Morris, mime artists Shields and Yarnell, New York Metropolitan Opera tenor Arnold Rawls are among them and a good representation of the different musical genres I might encounter on a given project.  I’ve worked with a whole host of organizations on these projects. IBM, Coca Cola, Sara Lee, CHRISTUS Health, Chevrolet, and Texaco are names folks would probably know. Also a fun fact:  Dallas-area musicians invented the “Radio ID Jingle” back in the ’60s. So, working with radio broadcast clients has been a big part of my career as well. Stations like KZLA in Los Angeles, WFAN in New York, KVIL in Dallas, and BBC Radio 2 in the U.K. are a few examples. The messages we help these clients deliver to their employee or customer bases are as diverse as the artists who perform for them.  As I mentioned, every project is unique.  And the diversity of work has taken me to destinations all over the world—from the middle east to the Mediterranean to Central America, and of course a host of places in the U.S.  I’m really grateful to have had the opportunity to work with artists and organizations like these throughout the years.

I also work a lot in the studio as a session group and solo vocalist and vocal producer. Doing so requires familiarity with a wide range of vocal styles, from jazz to pop to country—even classical.  Together with my fellow Dallas-area studio singers, I think I can safely say our voices are heard on radio and television stations all over the world every day.  As far as favorites of mine, having had the honor of being the solo singing voice for PBS Network Television’s national promo spots for several years a while back certainly would be among them.

I’ve also had a chance to sing some live concerts as a soloist with several great symphony orchestras around the country, and with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra led by my friend, Byron Stripling, with whom I played in the jazz ensemble trumpet section at the Eastman School of Music back in the day. I even had the chance to sing in a couple of original musicals here in town—one of which we took to New York City for a staged reading. That was wonderful fun.

I think one of the more memorable—and wilder—live performances was at an LSU football game, where I sang for ninety-two thousand pumped up fans for a Veterans’ Day Half-time Extravaganza in Tiger Stadium. Jets performed a flyover during the performance—it was loud!

Some of my favorite projects have been right here in Dallas:

I was the chief composer and producer of the music piece, “Ring of Honor,” commissioned to celebrate the opening of what was then the brand new stadium for the Dallas Cowboys (now called AT&T Stadium) in 2009. It premiered at their home opener that year.  I remember taking a digital mixing console in there the week before with my friend and audio engineer, Paul West, to do a final mix of the piece. We discovered there was a 6.5 second sound delay in the stadium. It was like mixing a song in a canyon—or more accurately a giant upside down toilet bowl! It all worked out in the end, though, and it was thrilling to be a part of that special day for the Cowboys organization.

I’ve also served as a creative consultant for the annual “College Signing Day” event for Uplift Education here in Dallas since they began the event about seven years ago.  Uplift is a wonderful charter school system whose mission is to provide a quality K-12 education for its students, who maintain a 100% matriculation rate to college. Many are the first in their family to attend college.  Last year the event took place in AT&T Stadium. Seeing thousands of students, teachers, and parents gather each year to celebrate and to hear each graduating senior announce the college they’ve chosen to attend is gratifying to see.

You might hear me on radio commercials aired here in town throughout the week.  I think the longest running radio spot I’m heard on here in Dallas would probably be the brief end-of-show sing for the “Hard Line” sports radio program on AM 1310 The Ticket. If you tune in at the end of the show a little before 7pm, you will hear my unaccompanied recorded voice singing “The Hard Line,” which I think show host Mike Rhyner has played as his sign-off for probably twenty years or more.  It’s nice to still be a small part of that radio show’s tradition after all these many years.

A few times a year, I sing with “Tex Zimmerman and His All Star Band,”a Bob Dylan tribute band here in the Dallas area led by Mike Steinel, who donates the proceeds from the concerts to a wonderful cause — his“Instruments of Change” charitable organization, which provides musical instruments and programs to communities in need around the world.

I’ve also been serving as the orchestra conductor and Artist-In-Residence at White’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Southlake, TX for the last 15 years or so.  I am one of those fortunate enough to conduct the talented musicians in our orchestra and choirs, and I’ve also enjoyed singing and arranging there when called upon.  Music is a significant part of the worship experiences offered there every week. The White’s Chapel community has been a great support to my family and me throughout the years. Consider this an invitation to come sing or play with us!

Some of the greatest work-related moments for me come when working with music students.  I’ve taught students aged 10 through 80-something, and witnessing each student’s unique talents unfold as he or she grows vocally and musically never grows old.  Several have gone on to major in music in college. Others realize life-long dreams.  Just recently, I was singing at The Rustic in Dallas with a classic rock band founded by businessman Fin Ewing, a life long Dallasite, who came to me about four years ago wanting to learn how to sing.  He was determined to learn to sing well enough to perform with a band of great musicians and singers who could help him put on a show.  And, lo and behold, he did it!  We are all having a great time with the band now, called “Fin Ewing and The Wrong Direction.” It has been wonderful to see Fin realize a “Bucket List” dream of his.

I like to write songs, too. A long time ago (1987), a song of mine, “Downtown”, reached #11 on Billboard Magazine’s Urban Contemporary chart.  (I think you can still find it on YouTube…) In recent years, I’ve enjoyed writing and recording some of my own songs again for fun. I have a couple of Christmas tunes you can find on the streaming services like Apple Music, Amazon Music, or Spotify: “Holiday Kind of Love” and “Quiet Christmas With You.”

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love Dallas for its rich fine arts culture, of course.  We have a wonderful symphony orchestra, and world-class opera company, and beautiful art museums. The theater community is wonderful here, too.  And we have a great jazz community, thanks in no small part to the world-class musical programs in high schools and colleges in the area.  Dallas is home to some of the finest musicians in the world. I’m grateful to be surrounded by and working with so many fantastic people week to week here in town.

Dallas also has great restaurants (more per-capita than New York City, I was told when I first moved here), and it’s been fun to have so many choices when taking the time to dine out.  And it’s not all just Texas beef barbeque.  There are restaurants offering delightful food traditions from around the globe.

If I could change one thing, it would be the hot, hot summer temperatures.  But then again, I traded in the Wisconsin cold winters (where I grew up) for the Texas summer heat, so I’d call it an even trade at this point.

But most of all, I’ve enjoyed all the people I’ve met and befriended here.  Dallas is great city filled with wonderful people. My wife, Sherry and I have now lived in the DFW metroplex longer than anywhere else.  It’s where we raised our three children, and it’s very much home to us now.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.brucewermuth.com
• Email: bmmwermuth@icloud.com

Image Credit:
White’s Chapel United Methodist Church, Southlake, TX and Bret Redman, Dallas, TX

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