Leon Burke
Leading the Youth Choral Academy and the Adult Choral Workshop

Leon Burke, III is one of the busiest conductors in the St. Louis Metropolitan area. Born in St. Louis, he attended the Oberlin Conservatory and pursued further study that culminated in the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Kansas. He has conducted at the Aspen Music Festival and the Shenandoah Valley Music Festival and studied with many important conductors including Sir Georg Solti, Leonard Slatkin, Edo de Waart, and Jorge Mester. He has been a Fulbright Fellow.

Burke is currently the Music Director of the University City Symphony, Assistant Director of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus and is one of the cover conductors for the St. Louis Symphony. He also conducts the Cadenza Orchestra of the St. Charles County Youth Orchestra Program and is the Music Director of the Belleville Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. He is also the Choir Director for Eliot Chapel in Kirkwood. A multifaceted musician, Leon Burke is also on the faculties of St. Louis University and East Central College in Union, Missouri teaching voice. Outside of St. Louis, he is the Principal Guest Conductor of the Asuncion Symphony in Paraguay and Conductor of the Metropolitan Ballet of Topeka.

Though very active as an instrumental conductor, Burke is also in demand as a choral conductor and has worked with some of the great choral conductors in the United States such as Dale Warland, Amy Kaiser and Jo-Michael Scheibe. In 2007 he conducted the 200-voice GA Choir at the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly in Portland, Oregon. During the recent season, he has conducted the St. Louis Symphony and its InUnison Chorus in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy for its Black History Month Celebration concert and he has been the Director of Choruses at St. Louis University. He holds several awards for his work in the local musical theater scene as a Music Director and this past April conducted Strauss’ Die Fledermaus with the Midwest Lyric Opera in Jefferson City, Missouri.