The Alton Symphony Orchestra has contracted Dr. Leon Burke III as Music Director and Conductor for its sixty-sixth year of concerts beginning in September.
Dr. Leon Burke III committed his life to music when he began his studies at age 12 and at age 16, he was conducting orchestras. Graduating from John Burroughs School, he entered the Oberlin Conservatory in 1972 earning his credentials in Composition. Dr. Burke earned a M.M. and a D.M.A. in Conducting from the University of Kansas. He has been a Fulbright Fellow in Paraguay and plans to conduct in both Argentina and Paraguay this summer.
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Dr. Burke is currently active as the Conductor of the University City Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus. He is the Choir Director at Eliot Unitarian Chapel in Kirkwood. Beyond St. Louis City proper, Dr. Burke is the Conductor for the Metropolitan Ballet of Topeka and conducts the Metro East Junior Orchestra in Belleville. He current titles the position of adjunct faculty member at East Central College in Union, Missouri. Dr. Burke believes that classical musicians are average people with very special gifts, which must be shared. We hope you will join us in welcoming Maestro Leon Burke into our community as Conductor for the Alton Symphony Orchestra's sixty-sixth concert season, bringing excellence in music to communities throughout Southwest Illinois.
