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Bruce J. Barber II was appointed Director of Cathedral Music in January 2004. Prior to joining the staff of St. James, he served as Canon Precentor & Director of Cathedral Music at the Cathedral Church of St. John, the Diocese of the Rio Grande, Albuquerque, New Mexico for 10 years. At St. John Cathedral he developed a highly respected and internationally known music program consisting of a large choral program for both children and adults, various multi-faceted concert series and an organ recital series.

Bruce has performed with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, the Florida Symphony Orchestra and the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, and has conducted a wide range of sacred music for choir and orchestra, ranging from Bach to Beethoven, Brahms to Durufle, Bernstein and Stravinsky. He has made two CD recordings with the Musicians of St. John’s Cathedral, "To the Creator of Light: Choral Music from the Cathedral Church of St. John" and "All This Time: Music for Advent and Christmas," both of which have been critically acclaimed.

Since moving to the Chicago area, Mr. Barber has performed with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, at both Symphony Center and at Ravinia Park, under such notable maestros as James Conlon, Helmuth Rilling, David Zinman and Duane Wolfe. At St. James Cathdral, he has led the Chamber Orchestra of St. James and the Cathedral Choir in performances of works by Mozart, Haydn, Pinkham, Rutter and Handel.

Trained as a choral and orchestral conductor, an organist and cellist, Mr. Barber holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida, and a Master of Music Degree from the Yale School of Music and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. With Bernard Zinck, Professor of Violin at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he has performed concerts for organ and violin both in the United States and Europe. In 2003 the duo completed a concert tour that included performances in Holland and France, and master classes in Italy.

Mr. Barber's professional affiliations are as a member of the Association of Anglican Musicians, a member and Past Dean of the American Guild of Organists, and Board Member of Early Music Now, which presents leading performers of early music in concert in the greater Milwaukee, Wisconsin area.