Dean Burry

Dean Burry (born 1972 in St. John's, Newfoundland) is a Canadian composer, librettist, and educator. He is best known for his operatic adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.^[1]

Early life[edit]

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[edit]

Burry first attended college at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. 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 and studied composition.

Awards[edit]

• In 2011, Burry was given the Louis Applebaum Composers Award.

Music[edit]

Operas[edit]

• Unto the Earth: Vignettes of a War^[2]
• The Brothers Grimm^[3] (for the Canadian Opera Company)
• The Hobbit^[4] (for the Canadian Children’s Opera Company)
• The Vinland Traveller
• Isis and the Seven Scorpions^[5] (for the Canadian Opera Company)
• Pandora's Locker^[6] (for The Glenn Gould School at The Royal Conservatory of Music)
• A Creature of Habit
• Baby Kintyre
• The Mummers' Masque
• The Bremen Town Musicians^[7] (for Opera Lyra Ottawa)
• Angela and Her Sisters
• The Secret World of OG^[8] (for the Canadian Children’s Opera Company)
• Le nez de la sorcière
• The Bells of Baddeck
• The Sword in the Schoolyard
• Shanawdithit^[9] (for Tapestry Opera)

Musical Theatre[edit]

• Under the Night
• Emily of New Moon
• Rainbow Valley
• Songs of the Island (for the Charlottetown Festival)
• Home and Away (for Live Bait Theatre)
• The Heart That Knows (for Live Bait Theatre)
• Sweetheart: The Mary Pickford Story
• Beacon of Light

See also[edit]

• Music Contributors from The Hobbit
• List of Canadian composers
• List of University of Toronto people

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Dean Burry Interview on Brothers Grimm opera Archived 2014-10-12 at the Wayback Machine