Bruce Morton Wright, 65, former Gannon University music director, instructor of fine arts and director of the college band, died of multiple myeloma at his home Friday.
After graduating from Strong Vincent, Wright received a bachelor of arts degree in music from Gannon University and Mercyhurst College in 1969. He also received a Kapellmeister degree from Vienna Conservatory of Music in 1973 and a master’s degree in public administration from Gannon University in 2000.
As part of his service as music director at Gannon, Wright served as the director and conductor of the Erie Chamber Orchestra, whose predecessor, the Erie Bayfront Orchestra, Wright founded in 1978.
He also served as the director and conductor of the Erie Opera Theatre, which he founded in 1983. He was also the director of the Lake Erie Ballet Orchestra and the Bemus Bay Pops.
Wright was also active in programs to better the city. He served on the board of directors of the Erie County Historical Society, the Perseus House and the Martin Luther King Center.
Before returning to Erie, Mr. Wright served as the director of the Music Academy of Tunja, Columbia and the Assistant Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of Colombia in Bogota, Colombia.
He is survived by his wife, Merja Tuula Wright, M.D. of Helsinki, Finland; two daughters, Ms. Anna Tuulia Wright of Pittsburgh, Pa. and Mrs. Meri Nina Eloise Wright Spafford and a granddaughter, Elena Arja Spafford of Erie, Pa.