Amy Burgar is currently in her second year of study as a Master of Arts in Arts Administration at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, where she serves as a Student Ambassador. She holds a Master of Music in Voice Performance from the Jacobs School of Music (IU) where she was a student of Baritone Andreas Poulimenos, and a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from Texas Christian University where she trained with San-ky Kim, Keith Wolfe of Fort Worth Opera, and sang under the baton of Dr. German Gutierrez. A native Texan, she has sung professionally with the Fort Worth Opera chorus under the musical direction of Principle Conductor, Joseph Illick. Internationally, she has performed with the American Institute of Musical Studies in Gratz, Austria, as well as with the Orfeo International Music Festival in Vipiteno, Italy. Favorite roles include: Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Madame Pompous in Too Many Sopranos, Ida in Die Fledermaus, and Annie Oakley in Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun. Locally, she has appeared with the New Voices Opera Double Bill Projects singing in the chorus of Nic Chuaqui's premiere of The Forest of Dreams in 2016 and premiering the principal role of 'Genevieve" in Melody Eötvös' tantalizingly dark drama The King in Yellow. She has performed on the Jacobs School of Music's stage in the chorus's of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Vaughn Williams' A Sea Symphony, and Britten's War Requiem.
Professionally, Ms. Burgar has worked with a variety of non-profits in the areas of project management, market research, and grant writing. Most recently, during her time working as the Graduate Intern for The Arts Community Alliance, Ms. Burgar developed and implemented a strategic market research initiative aimed at investigating programming benefitting artists and arts organizations across 7 markets in the United States. In addition to this work, Ms. Burgar has worked professionally with the Fort Worth Opera company, acting as their Intern of Development from 2012 to 2014. During her time with Fort Worth Opera, she gained experience in audience and donor development, integrated donor base systems, as well as large scale event planning. In 2015-2016, Ms. Burgar obtained the role of Associate Director of Development with New Voices Opera. During this time, she played an integral role in the receiving of multiple funding grants from the city of Bloomington, raising community awareness and gaining accolades for its presence and mission within the region. From 2016-2017, Ms. Burgar rose to the position of Director of Development for NVO, establishing its first Community Advisory Board. Presently, she holds the position of New Voices Opera’s General Manager, as well as the position of Develop Graduate Assistant at the IU Auditorium. Ms. Burgar is an alumna member of the Mu Phi Epsilon Music Fraternity-Epsilon Epsilon Chapter, where she served as Chapter President from 2011-2013.
How did you get involved with NVO?
What other organizations are you involved with?
NVO is my one and only organizational love affair.
A performer at heart, my journey with NVO began in the spring of 2015. I was granted the opportunity to premiere the role of Genevieve in composer Melody Eötvös’s The King in Yellow (a feature work on the Spring Double Bill last season), and instantly fell in love with the organization, its administration, and most importantly its mission. Towards the end of my involvement with the Double Bill project, my background in development (my other life) was revealed to the board. Before I new it, I was granted yet another opportunity by this magnificent organization; the position of Associate Director of Development.
What does "opera" mean to you?
Currently, I am focused on the study of opera and the passion required to pursue this focus as a career. I am an advocate of the fine arts and choose to dedicate my life to ensure its livelihood in our society. Opera, to me, is synonymous with expression. It has the ability to inspire, change, and move those that open themselves to its impact. I have devoted my life to opera and refuse to allow the world to become devoid of its brilliance.