St. Joseph High School Orchestra Director Burke Lokey has been named Teacher of the Year by the Michigan Chapter of the American String Teacher Association (MASTA).
Lokey brought his award to the St. Joseph School Board Meeting on Monday, where he was recognized by members of the board and Superintendent Jenny Fee.
“[At the award ceremony], they talked about Burke’s innovation in teaching and all the opportunities he creates for kids locally, across the state, and even nationally and internationally – playing music in places they normally don’t get to play,” Fee said. “You can always tell he puts students first. … Congratulations.”
Under his leadership since 2010, the Saint Joseph orchestras continue to earn top ratings at Michigan school band and orchestra festivals, as well as perform across the U.S. This past summer, he led a group of over 100 students on a performance tour of Spain.
“They’re great kids, and this is a great place to work,” Lokey said. “Thanks [to the board] for all the work you guys do.”
Burke also has been the director of the Lake Michigan Youth Orchestra since 2014. He has grown the program into four ensembles, including the newly-added Wind Ensemble. He is the Education Director for the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, where he has helped to develop educational programs for the community.
According to Burke’s nominating page on the MASTA website, his nominator said the following:
“Burke Lokey is the definition of a MASTA Teacher of the Year. He continuously seeks out new and unique opportunities for his students and achieves the highest standards. In addition to performing at the Michigan Music Conference and the ASTA National Orchestra Festival, he tours with his orchestras both nationally and internationally performing in unique venues and acquiring amazing clinicians for his groups while on his tours. Burke’s leadership in Southwest Michigan has sustained the tradition of excellence in that area of the state created by the Reed family decades earlier.
His professional service is a gift to our organization in addition to his teaching excellence. He has sustained MASTA’s strong financial position through a pandemic and the changing environment of our activities and does it all with calm and professionalism.”
