Rob Burke
Robert Burke has enjoyed a diverse and wide-ranging career as a performer, composer and educator in music. Although classically trained on the clarinet and saxophones, his main focus as a performer has been on jazz and popular rock, including eight years performing and composing with Kate Ceberano (including a top-ten Australian hit) and fifteen years with ARIA award-winning band The Black Sorrows. Rob has performed on and contributed compositions to over 100 CDs by groups ranging from pop acts such as John Farnham, Ice House, Real Life, Vika and Linda Bull, to contemporary jazz projects with leading artists including Tony Gould, Tony Floyd, Doug De Vries, Slava Gregorian, Geoff Hughes, Nick Haywood and Stephen Magnusson. Most recently, Rob released a duet album with Tony Gould titled Here (Jazzhead 2010), the third in a series of such collaborations.
Rob also performs live with many international and local jazz artists including Red Rodney, John Abercrombie, George Garzone, Tony Gould, Lula Galvao, Roberta Valente, Mirko Guerrini, Don Burrows, Stephen Magnusson, Geoff Hughes, Tony Floyd and Mike Nock. Rob has also toured extensively through Asia, Europe, the United States and locally, including as leader of his own projects. He has studied under influential and pioneering jazz musicians including the likes of Dave Liebman, George Garzone and George Coleman in New York.
Rob has had extensive teaching experience, both as a private tutor and as a staff member of the Victorian College of the Arts between 1995 and 2001. In 2000 Rob was invited to conduct improvisation classes at Monash University’s School of Music – Conservatorium. Rob subsequently developed an autonomous jazz course for the School of Music and in 2003, was appointed Coordinator of Jazz and Popular Studies. This jazz course is now regarded as one of the leading courses for jazz education in Australia, offering both comprehensive practical training and strong academic qualifications, and providing students with exceptional learning and performance opportunities in Australia, Italy and the United States (New York).
Since 2007 Rob has focused on creating cultural and educational ties between Monash University in Australia and Brazil, by creating links with Unicamp University in Campinas and consulting with Brazilian funding agencies and other universities. Rob was artist-in-residence at Universidade Estadual de Campinas – Unicamp (Campinas), Musica de Scuola de Brasilia (Brasilia), and Souza de Lima School of Music (Sao Paulo) where he conducted workshops, lectures and musical performances. Rob is also leading efforts to build philanthropic support for the School of Music at Monash University, with a view to expanding the facilities and resources available to students.
