A Juno-winning composer and pianist, I greatly enjoy working with students and musicians of all ages. Having taught at Queen's University for over 30 years, my speaking style is highly animated and I do everything I can to convey my love and understanding of music, often demonstrating concepts at the keyboard. Recently I've been having great fun by donating my services to festivals in the presentation of a solo recital of my own piano music as a scholarship fundraiser prior to the first class.
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John
Burge

A.R.C.T. (Piano Performance)
B.Mus. and M.Mus. (University of Toronto)
D.M.A. (University of British Columbia)

Dr. John Burge was born in Dryden Ontario in 1961 and grew up in Calgary studying the piano with Dorothy Hare. He holds three degrees in Composition and Theory from the Universities of Toronto and British Columbia and since 1987, has been teaching at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, where he is a full professor. For his outstanding work as a composer over the years, in 2013 he was awarded a Queen's University Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarship. In 2014 he was inducted as a Fellow into the Royal Society of Canada for his success as a composer and leadership in the Arts in Canada. He has composed a large body of instrumental and vocal music in all genres and his work, Flanders Fields Reflections, for string orchestra, received the 2009 Juno Award for the Best Canadian Classical Composition. Burge loves working with young musicians and is in high demand as a music festival adjudicator. In recent years he has joined the Red Leaf Pianoworks collective and has been performing solo piano recitals of his own compositions. A passionate advocate for Canadian music and the arts, he was an executive member of the Canadian League of Composers from 1993-2007 (President from 1998-2006), founding board member of Cantabile Choirs of Kingston in 1995, Chair and board member for the Port Milford Summer Music School and Festival from 2012-2018 and has been on the board of the SOCAN Foundation since 2009.

What I strive to accomplish as an adjudicator:

1. Make sure that everyone is having fun and is at ease and able to perform to the best of their ability. Sometimes this requires a brief introduction of myself and a few smiles to all the performers before the start of the class. This often involves the telling of a rather lame joke which often makes the moment pathetically funny but we all try.

2. Make sure that all performers leave wanting to come back and perform again really soon.

3. If a student plays twice for me then I make sure that I memorize their name.

4. While it is important to write a concise and detailed written adjudication, I never read an adjudication outloud but instead, summarize the main points from memory always trying to get to the piano for demonstration purposes whenever possible.

5. If it is the performer's last time playing at the festival and there is extra time available in the class (perhaps because another performer hasn't shown up) I will sometimes invite the pianist to return to the keyboard to have a short masterclass if it would be advantageous. These are often the most constructive and entertaining moments for the audience.

6. If the class is devoted to one composer (such as Bach or Chopin) I include historical information that helps to bring the music alive with meaning and purpose. In more advanced repertoire, I don't hesitate to dwell on points of analysis or performance practice that can help to broaden the performer's perspective and musical insights.

7. Students must always bow after a performance (and preferrably annouce their name and the composition they are going to play before sitting at the piano). I have been known to get an entire class up to practice bowing at the very first session and then it is miraculous how word spreads that I like to see performers graciously acknowledge the audience's applause with a bow.

English
64 Dundas Street
Kingston
K7L 1N3
Ontario
Canada
Piano, Composition

[Assume Piano Adjudication unless indicated as Composition.]
-Manitoba Registered Music Teachers' Association Student Composition Competition, 2019
-Peel Region Festival, Mississauga, 2007, 2012, 2016, 2019
-Edmonton Contemporary Showcase (Piano and Composition), 2018
-New Brunswick Registered Music Teachers' Association Composition Competition, 2018
-MidWestern Ontario Music Festival, Walkerton, ON (Composition), 2018
-Edmonton Music Festival, Edmonton, AB, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2017
-Newmarket Lions Club Music Festival, Newmarket, ON, 2017
-New Brunswick Provincials (Composition), 2016, 2017
-Canadian National Music Teachers' Association Composition Competition, 2016
-Alberta Provincial Music Festival, Edmonton, AB, 2011, 2016
-Toronto Contemporary Showcase, Toronto, ON, 2015
-Kingston Canada Music Week Festival, Kingston, ON, 2015
-Brampton Music Festival, Brampton, ON, May 2, 2015
-Calgary Festival of the Arts, Calgary, AB, 2003, 2009, 2015
-Burlington Music Festival, Burlington, ON, 2003, 2008, 2014
-Alberta Piano Teacher’s Association Creative Writing Competition, 2014
-Ontario Registered Music Teacher’s Provincial Instrumental Competition, Toronto, ON, 2014
-Peterborough and Region Music Festival, Peterborough, ON, 2001, 2013
-Orillia Music Festival, Orillia, ON, 2013
-Kingston Canada Music Week Festival, Kingston, ON, 2011
-Ottawa Canada Music Week Festival, Ottawa, ON, 2011
-North York Kiwanis Music Festival, Richmond Hill, ON, 2010
-Kitchener-Waterloo Music Festival, Kitchener-Waterloo, ON, 2002, 2009
-Sunderland Music Festival, Sunderland, ON, 2007
-Ontario Provincial Music Competition Finals, London, ON, 2007
-Bancroft Music Festival, Bancroft, ON,1992, 2006
-St. Thomas Music Festival, St. Thomas, ON, 2006
-Oshawa-Whitby Music Festival, Oshawa, ON, 1998, 2000, 2005
-Pembroke Music Festival, Pembroke, ON, 2004
-Toronto Kiwanis Music Festival, Toronto, ON, 2003
-Cobourg Music Festival, Cobourg, Ontario, 1999
-Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association Provincial Competition, Kingston Area, 1997, 1998
-Stirling Music Festival, Stirling, ON, 1997
-Belleville Music Festival, Belleville, ON, 1995
-Perth Music Festival, Perth, ON, 1991.