Welcome to Bur Oak Music

The Grade 10 Symphonic Band is excited to welcome Mr. George Taylor to the program.  He will be working with the group in preparation for our upcoming concert series and festival season.

Mr. Taylor is a retired educator who finished his career at Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School.  His other teaching placements have included Unionville Public School, Charlton Public School, Westminster Public School, Central Park Public School and Markville Secondary School, where he served as the Department Head Of Music for 11 years. In addition, Mr. Taylor has instructed Music Education Qualification courses at York University

Mr. Taylor studied music at the University of Toronto, Humber College, and York University (BFA). He completed his Bachelor of Education degree at Queen’s University in 1989.

During his career, Mr. Taylor has been a developer of curriculum at both board and provincial levels. His ensembles have achieved numerous awards at local festivals such as the Toronto Kiwanis Music Festival, the Ontario Band Association Concert Band Festival, and The Artslink Music Alive Festival. He has also led ensembles to Superior Award Ratings at the All American Music Festival, the North American Music Festival, and the Festivals Of Music festival. Mr. Taylor is a repeat winner of the OBA Festival Conducting Excellence Award, and most recently received the coveted OBA Rising Star Award.

Welcome Mr. Taylor to Bur Oak Music.

The Bur Oak Music council is proud to present its annual Music Social Night (MSN).  The event is being held in the cafeteria and music rooms on Thursday, November 5th beginning at 3:00 p.m.  You must be a Repertoire student in order to attend the event.

The ticket order form and permission form is due to the dropbox by Friday, October 30th.  $5.00 gets you admission, 2 slices of pizza, and a pop.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Thomas Burton, Conductor & Tenor

The Bur Oak Choral program is excited to welcome Thomas Burton to the program.

Raised in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Thomas Burton is Artistic Director of the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, Conductor of the University of Toronto Tenor-Bass Chorus, and Artistic Director of Durham Region’s RESOUND Choir. He is co-conductor of the award winning Halifax based chamber choir, Eastern Horizon. Praised for his innovative and eclectic programming as well as his dynamic presence on the podium, Thomas is in-demand nationally as a guest conductor, clinician and educator.

Thomas is passionate about inspiring excellence in performers of all ages and abilities. He has had the privilege of working with such ensembles as the Pacific Chorale, The Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto, Pro Coro Canada, the National Youth Choir of Canada, and the Vancouver Chamber Choir. An accomplished choral singer, Thomas has sung with some of Canada’s finest choral ensembles including the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers, Voces Boreales, and the Nathaniel Dett Chorale.

Thomas is a recipient of multiple awards, including the Ken Fleet Choral Conducting Scholarship and the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Award. In 2024 he was selected by Jeunesses Musicales as the inaugural recipient of the Iwan Edwards Scholarship for Young Conductors. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Trombone Performance from McGill University and a master’s degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Michigan where he studied with Dr. Jerry Blackstone and Dr. Eugene Rogers.