Greetings and orchestrations! My name is Bill Burns and I hail from New City, NY (a New York City suburb)--ever heard of it? I came to the University of Dayton in 1992 when I was offered a scholarship, and I have been an indigent jazz musician ever since then. During my four years at UD, I held principal chairs in Jazz Ensemble and Wind Ensemble, and I was a member of the First Flight Saxophone Quartet. I was also the winner of the 1995 Miami Valley Concerto Competition, and I played with the First Flight Quartet at the 1997 Ohio Music Educators Association annual conference. I am also a Sinfonian (OASAASLLS!) and was alumni secretary during my senior year.
For the past two years I have been a general music teacher at Precious Blood School in Dayton, and I've played as many gigs as I could. Before my move to Cincinnati, I played with the Dayton Jazz Orchestra, the Tom Daugherty Orchestra, and "Generation X," my own quartet. I also joined the faculty of the Miami Valley Jazz Labs, directed by Hal Melia (UD grad and great guy extraordinaire).
Currently I am pursuing a Masters degree in saxophone performance with a jazz emphasis at the College-Conservatory of Music of the University of Cincinnati. I am studying with Rick Van Meter, and I plan to graduate--God willing!--in the spring of 2000. Although I have cut back on my performance schedule, I will be appearing at the Thirsty Dog restaurant in Centerville (937-438-8081) as part of the Burns /Kotur Duo from 8-11 pm every Thursday night. Daytonians can also catch me playing with the likes of Lincoln Berry and Jim Leslie at the Sunday night jazz jam session (7-11 pm) at Dayton's Jazz Central (937-254-8130). Come out and support live music!
Listen to Bill Burns
and "Generation X" perform Third
Dimension Blues (35 sec., 299 K .au).