Dallas Burke is the Director of Bands for Seminole County High School in Donalsonville, Georgia.  He is an experienced composer, arranger and educator.  Currently, he is chief editor for Jalen Publications, Inc. (Orlando), which specializes in marching band arrangements, concert and jazz selections.  Dallas is in his seventh year in Seminole County.  He has also previously taught in Panama City, Florida (Mosely High), Foley and Daleville, Alabama.

     Dallas is an active producer in the tri-state area, recording demos and full-length recordings for local artists.  He is also a semi-professional guitarist and bassist, having performed in rock bands, R&B bands, jazz bands since 1986.  He played lead guitar at Troy with Wasted Time and is presently the bassist in the local rock group Third Paradigm.

     Since 1991 Dallas has written numerous arrangements for many types of ensembles. He has been commissioned by schools and churches across the southeast to write works for concert band, marching band, jazz band, choir, brass quintet, and string ensemble.  Dallas' first large-scale composition, "Dance Excursions", was written under the tutelage of Robert W. Smith and Ralph Ford and premiered by the Troy University Concert Band in 1999.  The University of Southern Mississippi, Georgia State University, and the University of West Alabama have also performed his compositions
and arrangements. 

     He attended high school here in Seminole County and graduated in 1990.  Honors included being named Star Student during his senior year.  He was a member of Robert Strickland's Green Machine, playing tuba and bass guitar and was drum major his senior year.
 

     Dallas has a Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Science in Education, both from Troy University.  While at Troy, Dallas studied under Dr. John M. Long, Ralph Ford, Robert W. Smith, and Dr. Harry Begian.

     Recently Dallas won an ASCAPLUS award which is given to established writers whose main activity is outside of broadcast media.  Determination for awards is based on each ASCAP member's catalog of written music, with emphasis on recent performances.  "ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) is a membership association of more than 300,000 U.S. composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers of every kind of music.  ASCAP is its members — creative people who write the music and lyrics that enrich lives in every corner of the world."

     Dallas is married to Celeste, a CPA and manager with Burke, Worsham & Harrell in Bainbridge.  He is the son of Stephen and Carol Burke of Donalsonville and Gayle Kidd of Pensacola, FL.