Skip to content
Home » Biography

Biography

Bryan K. Burns, D.M.A. is the professor of classical guitar studies at Southern Methodist University, Meadows School of the Arts and Booker T. Washington, High School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Dallas, Texas. He has performed, lectured, taught, and adjudicated throughout the United States and abroad. As a Doctoral Teaching Fellow at the University of North Texas, Dr. Burns founded the UNT Guitar Collegium and co-authored the Classical Guitar Curriculum for the University of North Texas with his friend and colleague, Stephen Lochbaum.

Bryan began studying the guitar at the relatively late age of nineteen. Having first been inspired in his formative years by the guitar playing of his father, he has since dedicated his life to refining his musical talent under the guidance of numerous formidable guitar minds. The foundations of his guitar playing were developed under the tutelage of many fine guitarists, most notably Robert Guthrie, Sabine Madriguera, and Tom Johnson.  

As his love for the 19th-century guitar repertoire began to blossom, Bryan sought out the Italian masters to further his interpretive understanding of their rich musical heritage.  His studies with Matteo Mela and Lorenzo Micheli, both in festivals and privately, have had a tremendous impact on his musical and artistic development.  

In 2009, Bryan turned his attention to the world-renowned guitarist Eliot Fisk to glean some insight into Mr. Fisk’s mastery of the instrument, specifically his unique approach to Baroque transcription. His post-graduate work at the New England Conservatory focused primarily on the repertoire of Johann Sebastian Bach, Domenico Scarlatti, and Johann Froberger. Bryan holds three music degrees from the University of North Texas (B.M. 2008 – M.M. 2009 –Doctor of Musical Arts, 2022) as well as an Artistic Graduate Diploma from the New England Conservatory (2011).

Bryan has won numerous prizes and awards in the field of music, both on the concert stage and academically. He has given concerts and lectures both in the U.S. and Europe, appearing as a featured soloist for several guitar societies and music festivals. Most recently, Dr. Burns has lectured extensively on his dissertation research pertaining to the music of J.S. Bach and the rhetorical implications of analysis and performance at numerous music festivals and university guitar programs.