Dean Burry (born 1972 in St. John's,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

) is a Canadian composer, librettist, and educator. He is known for being one of the composers of ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the '' ...

''.

Early life

Burry began his passion in music at age 10. He was inspired by a teacher to compete in piano competitions. He was also interested in theater, writing plays and musicals for his school drama club.

College

Burry first attended college at

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Like other liberal arts colleges in North America, Mount Allison does not parti ...

Sackville, New Brunswick Sackville is a town in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada. It is home to Mount Allison University, a primarily undergraduate liberal arts university. Historically based on agriculture, shipbuilding, and manufacturing, the economy is now driven ...

. While at Mount Allison, he produced and conducted ''The Resurrection'', ''Joe and Mary Had a Baby'', and ''Unto the Earth: Vignettes of a War''. He later went to the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and studied composition studies.

Awards

*In 2011, Burry was given the

Louis Applebaum Louis Applebaum (April 3, 1918April 19, 2000) was a Canadian film score composer, administrator, and conductor. Early life He was born in Toronto, Ontario, and studied at the Toronto Conservatory of Music with Leo Smith and the University o ...

Composers Award.

Music

Operas

*''Unto the Earth: Vignettes of a War'' *''The Brothers Grimm'' ''(for the

Canadian Opera Company The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Cent ...

)'' *''The Hobbit'' ''(for the Canadian Children’s Opera Company)'' *''The Vinland Traveller'' *''Isis and the Seven Scorpions'' ''(for the

)'' *''Pandora's Locker'' ''(for

The Glenn Gould School The Glenn Gould School is a centre for the training of professional musicians in performance at post-secondary and post-bachelor levels in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1987 and renamed in 1997 after the celebrated pianist, ...

The Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...

)'' *''A Creature of Habit'' *''Baby Kintyre'' *''The Mummers' Masque'' *''The Bremen Town Musicians'' ''(for

Opera Lyra Ottawa Opera Lyra Ottawa (OLO) was a non-profit professional opera company based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1984 by Canadian soprano Diana Gilchrist after the demise of the National Arts Centre's annual summer opera productions. The co ...

)'' *''Angela and Her Sisters'' *''The Secret World of OG'' ''(for the Canadian Children’s Opera Company)'' *''Le nez de la sorcière'' *''The Bells of Baddeck'' *''The Sword in the Schoolyard'' *''Shanawdithit''The official website of composer/librettist Dean Burry - Shawnadithit
/ref> ''(for

Tapestry Opera Tapestry Opera is a Canadian opera company located in Toronto, Ontario. According to its website, it is "the only Canadian company solely dedicated to the creation and performance of original Canadian opera". To date, the company has produced 18 ...

)''

Musical Theatre

*''Under the Night'' *''Emily of New Moon'' *''Rainbow Valley'' *''Songs of the Island (for the

Charlottetown Festival The Charlottetown Festival is a seasonal Canadian musical theatre festival which runs from late May to mid-October every year since 1965. Named after its host city Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and its Charlottetown Conference, since its inc ...

)'' *''Home and Away (for

Live Bait Theatre Live Bait Theatre is a theatre company based in Sackville, New Brunswick, in Canada. Established in 1988, writer Arthur Motyer was the founding chair. Performers have included Rita MacNeil, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes ...

)'' *''The Heart That Knows (for

)'' *''Sweetheart: The Mary Pickford Story'' *''Beacon of Light''

References

External links

Dean Burry Interview on Brothers Grimm opera
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burry, Dean 1972 births Living people Canadian composers Canadian male composers Musicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador University of Toronto alumni Mount Allison University alumni