ALEC BURKE| TRUMPET | EDUCATOR

Alec Burke is an active brass teacher, performer, and composer based in the Milwaukee area. He holds a Bachelors in music education from Ball State University and a Masters in trumpet performance and chamber music from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). While pursuing his Masters, Alec was the recipient of the UWM Trumpet Teaching Assistantship, Graduate Chancellor’s Award, the UWM Koeppen-Gerlach Scholarship. Currently, Alec serves as Trumpet and Jazz and Contemporary Music faculty at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and Brass Instructor at the Milwaukee Area Technical College. A proponent of differentiated and individualized music instruction, Alec’s students range from budding musicians to trumpet veterans, ages 7 to 75. He enthusiastically utilizes his professional experiences and progressive brass pedagogy to cater his teaching style to the needs of his students. Several of his adult students have been accepted into collegiate music programs or have performed in semi-professional ensembles, including the Concord Symphony Orchestra and local jazz and rock groups. Many of his younger students have won music scholarships and perform in honors ensembles including UWM’s UWAY, MYSO, or the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music’s Honors Jazz Ensemble. Since 2021, each of Alec’s students who participated in Solo and Ensemble Contest received a rating of 1 at the District competition, and his high school students that competed in Class A received gold ratings at the State competition. Passionate about community engagement through performance, Alec has collaborated with organizations including the Milwaukee Art Museum, Museum of Wisconsin Art, and Danceworks MKE. His mixed wind quintet, Black Cat Ensemble, frequently brings interactive educational performances to schools and community centers throughout the Midwest. Prior to moving to Wisconsin, Alec was the Education Coordinator with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra where he brought musical opportunities and educational performances to underserved communities throughout Central Indiana. Alec is also a strong advocate for supporting living composers and commissioning new music. A few notable collaborations include Austin Melcher (Helix Bells, 2019), Steven Darling (Wasteland, 2020), Dan Langa (Freckled, 2021), and Erika Malpass (to find beauty in surviving our emotions, 2022). He is also an experienced composer and arranger. In 2021, Alec was awarded a scholarship to attend the 2021 Sō Percussion Summer Institute, and in 2023 he was invited to premiere two of his own compositions at Danceworks MKE’s Get it Out There Emerging Artists Showcase. Black Cat Ensemble was also invited to collaborate with Danceworks MKE for their 2023 Small but Mighty performance. As an orchestral musician, he has performed with ensembles including the Wisconsin Philharmonic, Milwaukee Philharmonic, Kettle Moraine Symphony, and Concord Symphony Orchestra. An in-demand freelance musician, Alec has performed solo cornet with the Milwaukee Festival Brass, lead trumpet with the Chicago-based Connexion Band, and principal and lead trumpet for Milwaukee-area churches and theaters. In 2017, Alec was the Concerto Soloist for the Music for the Sake of Music Symphony Orchestra in Green Bay, WI. In his spare time, Alec enjoys gaming, reading, and spending time with his wife Jennifer and their two cats, Gabby and Ariel.