Bruce Colin Hoyer was born October 8th, 1953....the youngest of three children born to Frances Elaine and Hermann W. Hoyer. Born and raised in the western suburbs of Chicago, Bruce lived his first five years in Lombard, a year in Glen Ellyn, and three years in Palatine (on a small farm). He then returned to grow up in Glen Ellyn with his Grandparents, mother, sister, and brother. Bruce's grandfather (whose positive influence cannot be overstated) passed away when Bruce was eleven. Bruce and his siblings would be the fourth generation of his family to live in Glen Ellyn. Eventually Bruce would raise his first three children there. Bruce's romanticizing of where he grew up is at the heart and inspiration for his first album's impressionistic cover painting; Bruce's grandfather and great grandfather helped build the boathouse pictured in the painting...and his father, a builder, built several houses in the immediate area of the lake.
 Bruce and his brother Bill fished at the lake for Bluegills when they were young...when the village seemed so sleepy, and life so uncomplicated. Frequented for exercise, romantic walks, or to enjoy the curvy roads in a sports car, Lake Ellyn remains a sort of centerpiece for Bruce's life...a constant - transcending the generations. Most of Bruce's immediate family from his childhood has passed on now (brother at 45, mother, and grandmother - all since 1997), but the love and music go on forever.
Because his mother played the piano, Bruce had access to their Cable upright. At the age of six or seven, Bruce began to play the piano by ear. Never trained to play keyboard, Bruce sang in the High School choir, and picked up the guitar in his teens. As an adult, Bruce studied voice... and enjoys singing today as one of his greatest passions. A lover of most kinds of music, Bruce was heavily influenced by the convergent genres of "High Church" music, and the rock and roll of the late 1960's and on. Bruce especially enjoyed what he referred to as the "progressive rock bands" like Emerson, Lake, and Palmer...The Moody Blues...and Yes. Late in high school, Bruce left the rock band he had launched with friends to focus on piano. His passion and desire was to create ethereal, acoustic music that would minister to the soul.
The concept to publish and record the original compositions on his first album probably dates to the early 90's, but work on the first release did not actually commence until the summer of 2003. Like so many of us, Bruce was married, had several children, and had all the attendant responsibilities of sustaining a "Wonderful Life" before he knew what he wanted to "be" when he grew up. At the ripe age of 51, Bruce determined he should pursue composing (publishing and producing). To that end, his goal is to find the time, and gain the necessary discipline to facilitate composing at a vastly more prolific rate. Knowing not whether our years are one or fifty-one, we embark anew on this - our life's journey.
Photo by Naomi Prescott
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