Engaging the Community

Aug 23 2006
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Charles Burke
Charles Burke

Charles Burke is the Director of Education for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as well as the Artistic Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Youth Ensembles. Under his direction, the DSO’s commitment to community engagement, high-caliber music training, and meaningful partnerships have grown and become one of the preeminent orchestral educational programs in the nation.

As an executive administrator, Burke leads a diverse array of innovative and cutting-edge programs - concert presentations, training programs and institutional partnerships. His efforts in music exposure have led to the popular DSO’s Young People’s Concerts, Tiny Tots, the DSO’s Educational Concert Series and Super Saturday’s at the Max. These programs regularly reach more than 50,000 students and families a year.

Burke also serves as the Artistic and Executive leadership for the DSO’s Civic Youth Ensembles, as it continues to serve as a leading supplemental music training program in the United States. Located in the Max M. Fisher’s Pincus Music Education, the Civic Youth Ensembles hosts more than 600 students per week in 10 ensembles and teaches young people in jazz, classical, chamber and wind ensemble with world-class artists. Past and future artists include Yo Yo Ma, Midori, Chick Corea, Branford Marsalis, Herbie Hancock and Peter Oundjian. Burke founded and administers ACES (the Association of Civic Ensembles), a separate non-profit parent organization that financially partners with the DSO to insure the growth of the programs.

As a conductor, Burke was appointed Music Director and Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestras in 1999, a post he relinquished in 2006 to become Artistic Director. In 2000, Burke was the Music Director of the Lake St. Clair Symphony Orchestra in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. Burke has conducted the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in the 2001-2002 Educational Concert Series – attended by more than 16,000 children. Burke has served as a guest conductor, clinician and television educator - guest conducting the San Francisco Youth Symphony, the Interlochen High School Orchestra, the Detroit Chamber Strings, the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, the United States Army Band, the United States Herald Trumpets, Wayne State Symphony Orchestra and appearing as musical host on the WTVS production of “Mozart, Math and Music” and Backstage Pass with the Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestras.

Prior to his appointments with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Burke studied orchestral conducting at the University of Michigan. At the University of Michigan, Burke was appointed as Music Director of the Campus Symphony Orchestras as well as the Assistant Conductor of the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestras. Before his tenure at the University of Michigan, Burke was an active and sought-after guest conductor, adjudicator and clinician throughout his native Washington DC metropolitan area. Burke was the Music Director and founder of the Fairfax Chamber Orchestra, as well as a conducting and composition fellow at several international music festivals. In 1999, Burke served as a conducting fellow at the Oregon Bach Festival under Maestro Helmut Rilling.

The son of two professional musicians, Burke began playing piano at the age of five. At age nine, he made his professional debut with the title role of Amahl in Gian Carlo Menotti’s opera Amahl and the Night Visitors. Burke began his conducting training at the age of seventeen and has continued his studies with Neeme Järvi, Kenneth Kiesler, Martin Katz, Anthony Maiello, Mallory Thompson, Harold Faberman and Daniel Lewis.

Mr. Burke’s work in music education earned a nomination for the National Sallie Mae Outstanding Teaching Award. Under Burke’s leadership, his collegiate instrumental and elementary choral performance groups have been received critical acclaim for their outstanding achievements. Mr. Burke holds degrees from West Virginia University and George Mason University.

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Why can’t we fill the gap? If we do not step-up to fill the gap, who will? Why shouldn’t this be the role of an orchestra? This is really our problem and we have to solve it. If not, the audience will migrate to other entertainment options.

We have proven that we are more than an orchestra in many cases – we have chosen to take on new roles very successfully. At many large orchestras (including my own), we build new concert halls, office buildings and serve as economic drivers for redevelopment and tourism. However, we do not truly put the same type of institutional effort into arts education advocacy.

Advocacy means many different things to different people – there is a big difference between being an advocate that meets and talks about the issues, and actually creating innovative advocacy systems that lead to hard and measurable outcomes. If cultural institutions do not fill the gap – who will? I believe that we must use our organizational capital, board, staff, musicians and strategic community partnerships to mobilize school administrators, legislatures, school boards and local governments to create innovative opportunities in arts education. If we can raise money to build a hall – why can’t we raise money to create cultural incubators within school systems? Why can’t a large orchestra serve as a “cultural foundation” that provides funding for a school pyramid (from elementary to high school) – engaging the parents, students and community leaders?

The institution can be the catalyst for arts funding and creative partnerships (churches, universities and other non-profits) for arts-education. This is being done on a limited basis in a non-arts related manner by the Skillman Foundation with the “Good Schools Initiative.” For example, if a school partnership program (sending orchestra musicians into schools) costs an organization $40,000 dollars a year in artistic and staff time/fees, wouldn’t the money be better spent guaranteeing that two elementary schools have a shared general music teacher and every child has music on a weekly basis? What if the funding was raised by a local church combined with resources from a university with a music education department and a symphony orchestra? Wouldn’t this create real connection with diverse communities and change the perception of the role of a symphony orchestra?

I find it interesting that smaller orchestras seem more connected with the community than the large orchestras (my own included). Simply stated, the large orchestras need to do more – we need to reach more people and use our organizational capital to fill the gaps. Education and long-term in-depth engagement are the most important elements of audience development. If we don’t step up, no one else will. Ultimately music education, and hence our audience, will cease to exist.

About the author

Charles Burke
Charles Burke

Charles Burke is the Director of Education for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as well as the Artistic Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Youth Ensembles. Under his direction, the DSO’s commitment to community engagement, high-caliber music training, and meaningful partnerships have grown and become one of the preeminent orchestral educational programs in the nation.

As an executive administrator, Burke leads a diverse array of innovative and cutting-edge programs - concert presentations, training programs and institutional partnerships. His efforts in music exposure have led to the popular DSO’s Young People’s Concerts, Tiny Tots, the DSO’s Educational Concert Series and Super Saturday’s at the Max. These programs regularly reach more than 50,000 students and families a year.

Burke also serves as the Artistic and Executive leadership for the DSO’s Civic Youth Ensembles, as it continues to serve as a leading supplemental music training program in the United States. Located in the Max M. Fisher’s Pincus Music Education, the Civic Youth Ensembles hosts more than 600 students per week in 10 ensembles and teaches young people in jazz, classical, chamber and wind ensemble with world-class artists. Past and future artists include Yo Yo Ma, Midori, Chick Corea, Branford Marsalis, Herbie Hancock and Peter Oundjian. Burke founded and administers ACES (the Association of Civic Ensembles), a separate non-profit parent organization that financially partners with the DSO to insure the growth of the programs.

As a conductor, Burke was appointed Music Director and Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestras in 1999, a post he relinquished in 2006 to become Artistic Director. In 2000, Burke was the Music Director of the Lake St. Clair Symphony Orchestra in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. Burke has conducted the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in the 2001-2002 Educational Concert Series – attended by more than 16,000 children. Burke has served as a guest conductor, clinician and television educator - guest conducting the San Francisco Youth Symphony, the Interlochen High School Orchestra, the Detroit Chamber Strings, the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, the United States Army Band, the United States Herald Trumpets, Wayne State Symphony Orchestra and appearing as musical host on the WTVS production of “Mozart, Math and Music” and Backstage Pass with the Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestras.

Prior to his appointments with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Burke studied orchestral conducting at the University of Michigan. At the University of Michigan, Burke was appointed as Music Director of the Campus Symphony Orchestras as well as the Assistant Conductor of the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestras. Before his tenure at the University of Michigan, Burke was an active and sought-after guest conductor, adjudicator and clinician throughout his native Washington DC metropolitan area. Burke was the Music Director and founder of the Fairfax Chamber Orchestra, as well as a conducting and composition fellow at several international music festivals. In 1999, Burke served as a conducting fellow at the Oregon Bach Festival under Maestro Helmut Rilling.

The son of two professional musicians, Burke began playing piano at the age of five. At age nine, he made his professional debut with the title role of Amahl in Gian Carlo Menotti’s opera Amahl and the Night Visitors. Burke began his conducting training at the age of seventeen and has continued his studies with Neeme Järvi, Kenneth Kiesler, Martin Katz, Anthony Maiello, Mallory Thompson, Harold Faberman and Daniel Lewis.

Mr. Burke’s work in music education earned a nomination for the National Sallie Mae Outstanding Teaching Award. Under Burke’s leadership, his collegiate instrumental and elementary choral performance groups have been received critical acclaim for their outstanding achievements. Mr. Burke holds degrees from West Virginia University and George Mason University.

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