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Burke Sorenson

Composer - Director - Musician

About the artist:

Dr. Burke Sorenson received his Bachelors of Music Education and his Masters of Music in Orchestral Conducting from Brigham Young University (BYU). He pursued doctoral studies in Music Education at the University of Utah, and he currently holds a PhD in Education with emphasis in Higher Education Music Leadership from Capella University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Max Steiner Award, the Madsen Memorial Music Award, and the Graduate Studies Dean’s Award. Dr. Sorenson studied Suzuki pedagogy at the Intermountain Suzuki String Institute and earned a level one Kodaly certification from the Intermuse Academy. He studied violin/viola with Vesna Gruppman, Cynthia Richards, and Loi Anne Eyring. Dr. Sorenson has taught music, humanities, and education courses at Snow College, Western Governor’s University, and Utah Valley University. He is currently the Director of Orchestral Studies at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) and an instructor at BYU-Provo. He has served on the faculty at The Lyceum Music Festival, the Idaho Suzuki Institute, and Cleveland Suzuki Institute. Dr. Sorenson founded and conducted the Center Street Musical Theatre Orchestra, the Utah Valley Chamber Players Preparatory Orchestra, and the BYU New Horizons Orchestra. A frequent guest conductor, he currently conducts the SLCC Chamber Orchestra, the Taylorsville Symphony Orchestra, and the Pleasant Grove Orchestra. Dr. Sorenson is the only educator in Utah who holds a Level 3 teaching license with K-12 music and leadership administration areas of concentration. He has taught music at every level including elementary school, junior high, high school, and higher education. He currently heads the Instrumental Music Department at Merit College Preparatory Academy in Springville, Utah. As an instrumentalist, Dr. Sorenson has performed with the Utah Symphony (including tours and the Deer Valley Music Festival), Utah Regional Ballet, LA East Studio Orchestra, Orchestra at Temple Square, and the SummerArts Festival Orchestra. Dr. Sorenson founded the Stradivarius String Quartet which was featured on the front page of Segue magazine, served as the quartet in residence at the 2008 Salty Cricket Composer’s Collective, and world premiered numerous compositions. Dr. Sorenson is a sought after clinician and adjudicator with Heritage Music Festivals and the UHSAA throughout Utah and the western United States. He was the nation’s first ASTA Discovering Strings and Orchestra clinician. Dr. Sorenson is a technical expert consultant to MENC’s Publication Department, on the Board of Directors of the Utah Chapter of ASTA, and an Orchestra Committee member with the Utah Music Education Association. Dr. Sorenson holds a commission as a Captain in the Utah Army National Guard and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He currently serves as the Personnel Officer in the 19th Special Forces Group & is responsible for 2000 soldiers in 11 states. Dr. Sorenson has published numerous articles in publications such as the American Teacher Journal, the Instrumentalist, Student Band and Orchestra Magazine, and Teaching Music. He has made presentations at many regional and international conferences including the Utah Music Educators Conference, the International Consortium of Educational Development, and the Mountain Plains Adult Ed. Association Conference. Dr. Sorenson also authored two books: A Quantitative Study of Higher Education Music Leaders at NASM Accredited Institutions and A Discussion and Analysis of Four Major Orchestral Selections. He and his wife Sarah, who is also an educator, reside in Payson, Utah with their four children. He can be reached at burkesorenson@gmail.com.