Teacher Workshops & Professional Development

Composer and pianist, John Burge, taught at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, for 38 years before retiring as a Professor Emeritus in 2025. In 2014 he was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada for his achievements as a composer and support of the Arts in Canada. Having completed his Associate Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Toronto in Piano Performance while still in high school, John Burge has continued to perform throughout his career, usually in presentations of his own music. A passionate advocate for Canadian music, he served on the executive committee of the Canadian League of Composers from 1993-2007 (including eight years as President) and on the SOCAN Foundation board of directors from 2009-2025, as well as on the boards of a number of arts organizations in the Kingston area.

Many of Burge’s orchestral works, such as Snowdrift, The Canadian Shield, Four Seasons of the Canadian Flag, and Rocky Mountain Overture, have been performed by orchestras across Canada and internationally. His string orchestra work, Flanders Fields Reflections, as recorded by Sinfonia Toronto, received the 2009 Juno Award for the Best Canadian Classical Composition. Since 2013, Red Leaf Pianoworks has been publishing his solo piano music, with a number of these piano pieces listed in conservatory syllabi and publications and used as test pieces for competitions. An active music festival adjudicator and clinician, John Burge enjoys working with musicians young and old, greatly enjoying the opportunity to share musical ideas and insights.