Levi Burke

From a young age, Levi took a profound interest in musical theatre. He started teaching himself piano at the age of nine, working solely from The Phantom of the Opera and The Wizard of Oz sheet music selections to figure out how to make his fingers move. He continued playing for himself at home until he was first thrust into live musical theatre at the age of sixteen by an influential educator when he played the piano score for a school production. By eighteen, Levi was music directing the regular cabaret series at Carmel Community Players and various productions around Indianapolis. He has won awards for Best Music Direction and Best Vocal Direction for CCP’s 2015 production of Next to Normal, also being nominated for Best Music Direction for Footlite Musical’s production of Gypsy the same year.

 

After studying vocal technique from the late Jo (Reed) Trakimas, Levi continued to study under the music directors and pianists that he played and worked alongside. He holds a degree from Harvard University for studies in the Humanities, focusing on literature and writing, to develop skills on the other side of the creative spectrum. Levi is currently writing a musical about life after death.

 

His experiences range from professional productions to collegiate preparatory programs to youth education:

 

On the professional level, Levi has music and vocal directed productions for one of Indy’s resident professional theatres—Actor’s Theatre of Indiana—working with the artists Larry Raben, Don Farrell, Cynthia Collins, and Judy Fitzgerald during his time there. Those include the critically-acclaimed productions of Cabaret, La Cage Aux Folles, and A Grand Night for Singing. He has also worked as Keys II/Synth Tech for It Shoulda Been You, A Year with Frog and Toad, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

 

Levi served on faculty at Anderson University in the School of Music, Theater, and Dance with focus on the musical theatre program. He vocal and music directed productions, concerts, and recitals. For live performances, Levi provided piano accompaniment and arrangement services. For produced performances—including many performances and courses altered by COVID-19 restrictions—Levi crafted original accompaniment tracks and produced the vocals during recording sessions. Levi music directed and produced an original podcast musical, The Show Must Go On, with the university at the height of the pandemic. He co-instructed the courses Musical Theatre Styles I, MT Styles II, and Senior Showcase, the capstone project required for BA and BM degrees, alongside department head David Coolidge.

 

In his time directing the visiting Broadway composer series at Anderson University, Levi had the privilege of working with composer-lyricist team Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich and the composer-lyricist Georgia Stitt to create a better vision for their music. For the Senior Showcase capstone, the department also collaborated with Rachel Hoffman, the Broadway casting director, to improve students’ post-graduation success.

 

In youth theatre, he directed for Christian Youth Theatre and ran their summer camp programs for five years. He also has extensive experience working with teens at Avon High School’s show choir program and with Lutheran High School’s Saints on Stage theatre program for seven years. As a vocal clinician and pianist, Levi has also collaborated with Dr. Charles Brown to improve innovative teaching techniques for young musicians.

 

Since coming up in the community scene, Levi’s passion for musical theatre has reached performers and audiences of all ages. His work has reached critical acclaim in professional audiences; additionally, Teacher of the Year and Community Educator of the Month awards have been bestowed to him for his work with young artists. He continues to educate and direct, passing on the mantra that “anything worth doing is worth over-doing” to his students and collaborators.