KEN BURTON
Ken Burton started musical activities at a very early stage in his life. Raised in a home with a strong West Indian Christian foundation, music making was a regular activity as the family would gather to sing and play together. Burtons musical interests were further developed when he started accompanying his church choirs at the age of nine. Studies in music were consistent, from national exams through to post graduate professional development. From the highly acclaimed Trinity School through to University of London, tutors included Margaret Singh, David DeWarenne, Professor Andrew Ball (head of piano studies at Royal College of Music), Charles Corp and Janice Chapman.
Ken Burtons musical activities cover performance, recording, composition, production, directing and education in all areas, media, and continents . He regularly appears on television and radio programmes including Songs Of Praise, East Enders, X-Factor,Top Of The Pops, Prom At The Palace, Mike Doyle and the list goes on.
Recordings have been with major record labels such as EMI, EMI Classics, as MCI, where Ken has been a writer, performer, or director. He has also produced a very popular vocal exercise CD, where exercises are set to fun accompaniments.
Faber music has published three volumes of Burtons choral arrangements; the first volume, Feel The Spirit was a popular best seller. With English composer Bob Chilcott, he arranged, composed and edited the OUP volume, Christmas Spirituals For Choirs. In addition to this, he has arranged for television programmes and artists appearing on them such as Lesley Garrett and Willard White.
Ken Burton is probably best known for his work as a conductor and musical director. As a conductor, he has worked with (and will work with) London Mozart Players, and City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), International Adventist Symphony Orchestra (IASO), and has also worked as a music advisor for BBC Songs Of Praise. On a regular basis he is principal conductor of the award-winning London Adventist Chorale, and the popular Croydon SDA Gospel Choir, which is actually a resident choir of his home church in Croydon, South London. In 2000, Ken founded the session ensemble AVE , a pool of session singers specifically for providing high quality choral music for television programmes, adverts and films. In addition to this, Ken has been a guest conductor for choirs in universities, conservatoires, and choral societies. Some notable performances include Prom At The Palace at Buckingham Palace for HM The Queen, Royal Gala: VE Day Celebration special at London Coliseum for HRH Prince Charles, Churchill Memorial Concert in the presence of US President Bill Clinton, and concerts at Wembley Arena, before fifty thousand at Torontos Sky Dome, Royal Albert Hall, and the list is enormous.
Burton was also bandleader for two series: The Evidence and Mind The Gap, a total of thirty-two programmes for the satellite Hope TV Channel, for which he also composed the signature tune.
As a workshop leader for groups of all levels of experience, Burton makes regular visits to schools, churches and choral groups all over the world, often working with hundreds of voices.
In February 2005, Ken visited several orphanages in Kenya, where he worked with children in a music education programme. Some of this was followed by the Kenyan broadcast media and press. As a result of this visit, Ken Burton is working on making a difference in the lives of children through music programmes.
©2005
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