Lee Fortier Inducted 2009
	was always a jazz man.  He grew up in B.R. and started playing the bugle by ear and later switched to trumpet.  He didn’t really learn to read music until he went to Catholic High and Brother Oliver took an interest in his playing.  During his 45-minute lunch break, Fortier would go to the library and Brother Oliver would teach him to read music.  But Fortier was not sorry he learned to play by ear because he was always interested in improvisation, and that’s what jazz is all about.   After graduation from CHS, Fortier went to LSU where he earned a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in music.  Fortier was a member of Woody Herman’s famous “Third Herd,” having toured the country for six months when he decided his family came first.    Before going on the road, he had taught in Catholic schools, St. Gerard and St. Anthony.  When he left Woody Herman in 1953, he began teaching at the old BR Junior High School, later moving to Westdale. When Broadmoor High opened, he took the position as Instrumental Music Director, where he built a reputation as one of the top jazz teachers in the state. In 1977, when the magnet school opened, he divided his time between BRMHS and Broadmoor and the next year moved to BRMHS full time. Throughout his years of teaching, Fortier also remained active in the live music scene in B.R. playing with the Buddy Lee Orchestra, which he co-founded.  Lee Fortier was a true artist in the world of jazz and an exceptional teacher who inspired his students through his love of music and his gift to stir the greatness in others.