Dr. Burke Sorenson received his Bachelors of Music Education and his Masters of Music in
Orchestral Conducting from Brigham Young University (BYU). He pursued doctoral studies in
Music Education at the University of Utah, and he currently holds a PhD in Education with emphasis
in Higher Education Music Leadership from Capella University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the
recipient of numerous professional awards including the Max Steiner Award, the Madsen Memorial
Music Award, and the Graduate Studies Dean’s Award. Dr. Sorenson studied Suzuki pedagogy at the
Intermountain Suzuki String Institute, he also earned a Kodaly certification from the Intermuse
Academy. He studied violin/viola with Vesna Gruppman, Cynthia Richards, and Loi Anne Eyring.

Dr. Sorenson has taught music, humanities, and education courses at BYU, Snow College, Western
Governor’s University, Utah Valley University, and has most recently served as the Director of
Orchestral Studies at Salt Lake Community College. He is an education administrator at the Utah
State Office of Education and he teaches music at BYU-Provo. Dr. Sorenson founded and conducted
the Center Street Musical Theatre Orchestra, the Utah Valley Chamber Players Preparatory
Orchestra, and the BYU New Horizons Orchestra. A frequent guest conductor, he has conducted the
SLCC Chamber Orchestra, the Taylorsville Symphony Orchestra, and the Pleasant Grove Orchestra.
Dr. Sorenson is one of the few educators in Utah who holds a USOE Level 3 teaching license with
K-12 music and leadership administration areas of concentration. He has taught music at every level
including elementary school, junior high, high school, and higher education. He currently heads the
Instrumental Music Department at Merit College Preparatory Academy in Springville, Utah.

As an instrumentalist, Dr. Sorenson has performed with the Utah Symphony (including tours and the
Deer Valley Music Festival), Utah Regional Ballet, LA East Studio Orchestra, Orchestra at Temple
Square, and the SummerArts Festival Orchestra. Dr. Sorenson founded the Stradivarius String
Quartet which was featured on the front page of Segue magazine, served as the quartet in residence at
the 2008 Salty Cricket Composer’s Collective, and world premiered numerous compositions.
Dr. Sorenson is a sought after clinician and adjudicator with Heritage Music Festivals, Arts in the
Parks, ASTA Discovering Strings and Orchestras, and the UHSAA throughout Utah and the western
United States. Dr. Sorenson is also a technical expert consultant to MENC’s Publication Department.
He is on the Board of Directors of the Utah Chapter of ASTA, the Suzuki Association of Utah, and
an Orchestra Committee member with the Utah Music Education Association. Dr. Sorenson holds a
commission as a Captain in the Utah Army National Guard and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi
Freedom. He currently serves as the Personnel Officer in the 19th Special Forces Group & is
responsible for the personnel actions of over 2000 soldiers in 11 states.

Dr. Sorenson has published numerous articles in publications such as the American Teacher Journal,
the Instrumentalist, Student Band and Orchestra Magazine, and Teaching Music. He has made
presentations at many regional and international conferences including the Utah Music Educators
Conference, the International Consortium of Educational Development, and the Mountain Plains
Adult Ed. Association Conference. Dr. Sorenson also authored two books: A Quantitative Study of
Higher Education Music Leaders at NASM Accredited Institutions and A Discussion and Analysis of
Four Major Orchestral Selections. He and his wife Sarah, who is also an educator, reside in Payson,
Utah with their four children. He can be reached at burkesorenson@gmail.com.