He’s not exactly Jack Black (thank goodness!) but Adam Burdick does share some similarities with Jack’s character in the movie School of Rock. Most principally, Adam has an undeniable passion for music, he’s a dedicated teacher, and he runs a new music school.

Like many individuals who find themselves in grad school, Adam is a man of many interests and talents. As an undergraduate, first at USC and then at the University of Puget Sound, he considered majoring in aeronautical engineering before deciding to double-major in English and music. Upon graduation, he knew he wanted to find work where he could “create a choral experience for others” but wrestled with the all-important question of whether he could make a living doing what he loved. After struggling to find satisfying work, Adam earned a Master’s degree in choral conducting at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Still committed to following his passion, Adam gradually moved west. Along the way, he found work teaching singing at a community college and privately, conducting three community choruses, and singing professionally. But it wasn’t as glamorous as it may seem – it took a 30+ hour a week job at a grocery store and his supportive librarian wife to pay the bills. Despite some doubts, Adam believed he was capable of more. Therefore, he enrolled in the UW’s Doctorate of Musical Arts program, from which he graduated in 2007.

While at the UW, Adam learned extensively through Geoffrey Boers about listening and understanding the in and outs of a choir, discerning and diagnosing problems, and adeptly communicating the solutions that needed to be implemented in order to alleviate issues that arise in the musical field. Several experiences outside his studies taught Adam how to apply the skills he learned from his professor in the classroom and also in his own life. He credits the classes he took from the Center for Instructional Development & Research (CIDR) with helping him reaffirm his wish to teach and opening his eyes to the creative ways that teachers can approach teaching and to the profound connections between people that good teaching can foster. Furthermore, Adam’s experience as TA helped him realize he finds joy in creating environments where others can collaborate and be creative. Adam also utilized a variety of resources at the UW Career Center such as walk-ins, individual appointments, mock interviews, workshops, and most influentially, the Grad Student Dependable Strengths seminar. Regarding the Dependable Strengths seminar, Adam states: “It changed my life – changed the way I see myself, for the better!, and the way I share my self-vision with others” because the seminar is “a medium for clarifying what it is you want out of life, what makes you special, and how to express that to yourself and others who need to hear it.”

So how did Adam decide to put the knowledge he gained inside and outside the classroom at UW to good use? Upon graduation, Adam was hired to develop a school of acoustic music at Dusty Strings, a music shop in Fremont. He hires teachers for and coordinates lessons, classes, workshops, concerts, and events related to guitar, banjo, mandolin, ukulele, harp, hammered dulcimer, and other “folk” instruments.

While directing a new school of music was not exactly the career path he had in mind when he enrolled in a doctoral program, Adam enjoys his work and believes his job is helping him develop important skills and refine his future goals – what a bonus that his work also helps others learn to find their voice, so to speak, through music!

Adam encourages current students to follow through with any opportunity for meet and greets, informational interviewing, and networking (even if you’re shy, like Adam) and to, “Start keeping track of what you are doing now, from the big things to the small… You might surprise yourself realizing all the neat things you’ve done.”

I think most readers will agree that developing and running a music school is a “neat thing” but School of Rock isn’t the only movie that will invoke memories of Dr. Burdick in the future. One day, when you see an advertisement for a concert of The Princess Bride soundtrack, accompanied by a narration of the story, you’ll know that Adam has found yet another way to put his talents to good use!

— Written by Nina Kim and Briana Keller