Faculty
Barbara Burdick
Assistant Professor of Voice
Barbara Burdick joined the School of Music in 2005 as assistant professor of voice. She holds a doctor of musical arts degree in vocal performance and opera direction from The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees in Vocal Performance from Indiana University. She has sung professionally with such opera companies as the Santa Fe Opera, the Washington Civic Opera, Opera Colorado, Goldovsky Opera Institute, and Karlsrud Concerts Touring Opera. Her numerous concert appearances include a concert with composer Ned Rorem. She has received awards and scholarships from The University of Cincinnati, the Denver Lyric Opera Guild, and the Aspen Music Festival. In 1992, she was chosen to participate in the NATS Foundation Internship Program in Denton, Texas where she studied with James McKinney and Barbara Doscher. Her teachers include Barbara Honn, Ellen Faull, Eleanor Steber, Myron McPherson, and Cora Enman. Dr. Burdick has taught at Longwood College, Shenandoah Conservatory, St. Mary’s College, the University of Cincinnati, Northwestern State University of Louisiana, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, and Alma College. Her classes have included Vocal Techniques, Vocal Pedagogy, Diction, Opera Workshop, Stagecraft, and Music Theatre. She has served as producer/director and musical director for many musicals, including West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Secret Garden, Side By Side By Sondheim, Oklahoma, Into the Woods, and South Pacific. Her students have placed highly in NATS Competitions throughout the United States, including three first-place winners in Music Theater. She has judged vocal competitions nationally since 1977. She presented her research on the belt voice at the Wisconsin Music Educators Convention in 2000 and 2001, at the National Association of Theaters of Singing Convention in 2002, and at the International Congress of voice teachers in 2005. Her article on the same subject was published in The Journal of Singing in January 2005.
Dr. Burdick presented a poster presentation at the National Association of Teachers of Singing National Conference (June 28 - 30, 2008) titled: Bach to Broadway: A Comparative Study of Tone Production, Resonance Frequency, and Vowel Modification Theories in Choral Methods and Music Theater Singing. In March 2009, she presented a paper at the College Music Society Conference titled “Pedagogy in Transition: How Contemporary Commercial Music is transforming traditional vocal methodology and research.” In July 2009 she attended the Contemporary Commercial Music Vocal Pedagogy Institute, under the direction of Jeannette Lovetri, where she was certified in Levels II and III of Somatic Voicework. She was an invited speaker and presented the results of her four research studies on CCM vocal technique to the international assembly of voice teachers, performers, and researchers.
Contact Information
Email: burdi1be@cmich.edu
Phone: (989) 774-2302 Call
Room: MU 215
