Recipients of the: Legacy Award in Music Education

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Burns received the Bachelor of Music Education degree from Alabama State University, the Master of Music from Southern Illinois University and the Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the University of Alabama.

Dr. Burns is talented in both the classical and the dramatic arts. Her credits include a compact disc performance of "Poulenc's Gloria," numerous performances with the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, Frederick Douglass Hall Community Singers and the Montgomery Chorale. She performed memorable encore selections with operatic legend William Warfield in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. Dr. Burns was selected to perform and present to the Hawaiian International Conference on the Arts, was a presenter at the prestigious Executive Leadership Summit at Hampton Institute, and she performed at the McClosky Institute of Voice (MA). Her recent activities include a presentation at the National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc. Convention in Tennessee, and a performance at the College Music Society National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr. Burns currently serves as professor of Voice at Alabama State University in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. She has a winning vocal studio of performers who have been successful in vocal competitions, pageants, musicals, oral presentations and student's academic achievement honors. She has served on and is currently involved in numerous arts councils, board of advisors, and presenter of Master Classes for colleges and high school music programs. Dr. Burns has also served as Adjudicator for organizations spanning all areas of the Arts and as chair/co-chair for the institutional accreditation process of National Association of Schools of Music. She is an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Dr. Burns chairs the Recruitment and Retention committee, Publicity Committee in the Department of Music as well as creator of the "Database System," a system designed to track music majors to ensure successful matriculation.

Dr. Burns has significantly enhanced the cultural and intellectual life at Alabama State University and brought prestige and recognition to the school. Dr. Burns sponsored Dr. Roland Carter, international African-American conductor to serve as guest lecturer and conductor on the ASU 2010 Black History Program. Past years, she has brought numerous guest lecturers to the campus of ASU. Dr. Burns has had numerous students compete in the National Association of Teachers and Students vocal competition, with a number progressing to the final and semi-final rounds. She was recently appointed to the Board of the Vann Vocal Institute in connection with the Montgomery Symphony. She currently celebrates the graduate successes of her students receiving master's degrees from graduate schools and some preparing for the 2011 Metropolitan Opera Regional Auditions as well as professional opera companies.

Dr. Burns is a two-time regional winner of the Metropolitan Opera Vocal Competition. She shares a passion for the arts as well as the academic matriculation and success of her prospective music students, particularly those who show great promise in the area of vocal music education. Dr. Burns continues the legacy of ASU family graduates and recruit students for the entire university. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and has twenty-two years of service at ASU.