Joy Burdette

Dr. Joy Burdette, dramatic soprano, is in her twenty-third year as a professor of voice at Northern Kentucky University. She has performed opera, oratorio, and various concert works regionally and internationally. Her operatic roles include Leonore in Il Trovatore, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Vanessa in Vanessa, Mrs. Maurrant in Street Scenes, Magda in The Consul, and Mother in Hänsel und Gretel. Joy has performed various roles, as well as professional chorus work, with Opera Theatre of Lucca, Italy, Cincinnati Opera, Kentucky Opera, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the University of Louisville School of Music. Joy has performed concert works with the Opera Theatre of Lucca, Italy, Hamilton-Fairfield Symphony Orchestra, Lebanon Symphony Orchestra, Voices of the Commonwealth, University of Louisville, University of Virginia, Northern Kentucky University, Hartnell Chorus, and the Northern Kentucky Community Chorus. Joy presents recitals and masterclasses regularly, and is in demand as an adjudicator.

A regular with Cincinnati Opera, she has been a member of the company’s professional chorus for twenty years and is often featured as a soloist in outreach events and chorus showcase concerts.

Equally comfortable in the field of musical theatre, Joy has taught in the theatre departments of Xavier University and Northern Kentucky University. She is the past music director for the NKU Preparatory Department’s Mainstage Theatre Company.

Joy earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Louisville School of Music, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from the University of the Cumberlands (Williamsburg, Kentucky).

In the summers of 2012 and 2019, Joy spent five weeks teaching music courses in Salzburg, Austria as part of the Kentucky Institute of International Studies.

Joy is a member of the American Guild of Musical Artists and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. She is married to Tony, also a singer, and they have two children, Calia and Benjamin. They reside in the Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati area.