Bruce Heald arranges the young group of polyphonic talents and prepares to teach latin hymns, motets and liturgical music for the wintry ecclesiastical season.

Warm ethereal voices fill a frigid morning at the Immaculate Conception Apostolic School in New Hampshire. Dr. Bruce Heald has spent years organizing these nascent voices; teaching the basses and sopranos (and everything in between) to sing in one single harmony.

For over 11 years Dr. Heald has directed the music program at the Legionaries Apostolic School in New Hampshire, where he has vigorously worked to refine the choir’s enunciation, tone and repertoire. Dr. Heald had previously been a part of the ICAS faculty in 1988, teaching English and History but took a sabbatical in the nineties to undertake other scholarly pursuits.

Dr. Heald has an exhaustive resume. This Boston-born maestro graduated from Boston University and received degrees in Education from the University of Massachusetts and Columbia Pacific University. He is currently a professor of American History at Plymouth State University.

The good doctor admits that he always finds the students to be an inspirational group. On one occasion, when Dr. Heald was having a bad day, he saw a precandidate working in the garden. Dr. Heald asked him if he was happy, to which the young man responded that he was. When asked why, the precandidate’s response was, “Dr. Heald, it’s because I know that Christ loves me.”

Dr. Heald is not your typical academic, however. He is a dedicated statesman, serving as a New Hampshire State Representative, as well as an avid outdoorsman. He is considered one of the world’s formost experts on Lake Winnipesaukee. He has written over thirty-three books, mostly on the history of New England and still finds time to work on the Mt. Washington tour boat on Lake Winnipesaukee.

Immaculate Conception has been privileged to have such a savant in its presence. His mastery of the school’s musical talents is evident in boy’s morning prayers. “[The boys] are a positive stimulus, a catalyst, and a breath of fresh air” for Dr. Heald. By improving the musical quality of the choir, Dr. Bruce has enabled these future seminarians to experience a deeper spiritual reflection.

The uplifting music he has helped perfect has affected his own spiritual life as well. The Christ-filled spirit of the students drew Dr. Heald to the Catholic faith. When he started teaching at the apostolic school in 1988, he was Anglican. After a visit to Rome and spending some time with the Legionaries he knew from the school, Dr. Heald entered the Catholic Church in 1998.