Jill Burleson Burgett

Contact Information

Professional/Academic Experience

Dr. Jill Burgett is the Director of Choral Activities at University of Northern Colorado, where she has taught for fifteen years. Prior to her tenure at UNC, she was Associate Director of Choral Activities at Ball State University. In her position at UNC she conducts the UNC Concert Choir and Chamber Choir and teaches graduate choral methods and conducting coursework. She has been active in vocal music-teacher preparation for K-12 schools in Colorado and Indiana. Her doctorate is in choral conducting, with a cognate area of study in music education from Ball State University, where she was the Don Neuen fellowship recipient. She holds a Master of Music degree (choral conducting/ voice secondary area) from Ball State and a Bachelor of Music in music education- vocal emphasis (magna cum laude) from Heidelberg University. For over a decade, Burgett conducted choirs in the Indiana K-12 schools. She has served on the Indiana and Colorado American Choral Directors boards and Central Division board as Student Activities R&S Chair. She currently serves on the National Collegiate Choral Organization board, and was President, and now Past President, of Colorado ACDA. She has also served on the National ACDA Arts Equity Taskforce and Colorado CMEA Collegiate Council. Burgett is an active festival clinician, conference speaker, and All-State Choir conductor. Having maintained a voice and piano studio for more than 20 years, she has served as a staff voice teacher for the Denver School of the Arts (6-12) where she taught in classic, music theater, and vocal jazz styles. She has been a featured mezzo-soprano soloist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and the Toledo Philharmonic. Burgett is published in Choral Journal and New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Performance venues include Varna (Bulgaria), Barcelona, Montserrat, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, London, Paris, Beijing, and Rome. She has also taught conducting choral masterclasses in Rome, Bangkok and Barcelona. Workshop topics have included Arts Leadership Development, Building Choral Tone, and Conducting Masterclasses. Burgett’s research and publications have included the following topics: The Sacred Choral Music of Villa-Lobos, The Choral Treasures of Catalonia (Spain), and a current focus on The Sacred Choral Music of Mexico. Dr. Burgett is experienced in working with students and community singers of all age-levels, with a student-centered approach to learning is that is engaging, focused on musical excellence and student success. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in May 2023.