Emily Williams Burch is the founder and artistic director of RISE Chorales, an organization built to create choirs that revolutionize and inspire singing excellence. Each RISE Chorale has a mission of experiencing musical artistry, education, and personal growth through the choral arts and community experiences. RISE Chorales are united through a love of singing, but purposely seek out service projects and social events to enhance the singer and the community they live in. Mrs. Burch served on the podium as Director of Education and Music for the Savannah Children’s Choir for nearly ten years. Prior to that, Mrs. Burch served as Department Chair and taught General Music/Piano Teacher at Garrison School of Visual and Performing Arts. She has continues to have the privilege of traveling the country as a teacher/trainer for Quaver’s Marvelous World of Music, an interactive K-8 music curriculum. She also serves as an Artistic Adviser for Perform International, where she helps organizations create and realize their dreams on tours in the US and abroad. In addition to a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Music Education, Emily also holds an Orff Level 1 certification and has served on the Quaver’s Marvelous World of Music Teacher Advisory Council since 2010. Choirs under Mrs. Burch’s direction have performed regionally, nationally, and internationally including appearances at the Georgia Music Educator’s In-service Conference and the 23rd Annual Concors Internazionale Di Canto Corale, an international choir competition in Verona, Italy, where they received a gold award. Mrs. Burch has served on the Georgia American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) board and as the Treble Honor Choir Coordinator for both the 2014 and 2016 Southern Division ACDA Conferences. She is in her third term as Repertoire & Resources Chair for Children’s and Youth Community Choirs for the Southern Division ACDA. Most recently she traveled to Sweden as part of the International Conductors Exchange Program. She is a highly sought after clinician for both treble and middle school honor choirs. Mrs. Burch lives between Savannah, GA with her husband, their two dogs, Maestreaux and Boudreaux, and Columbia, SC where she is pursuing her DMA at the University of South Carolina. She actively trains for Ironman Triathlons, and has qualified for the Boston Marathon.
Sullivan co-founded the Savannah Children's Choir, and for 10 years served as the organization's Executive Director, and later Chief Operations Officer. With a varied background, Sullivan has over 30 years in non-profit management, organization and volunteer development experience. Having earned a BFA in Historic Preservation at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Sullivan served as executive director to three downtown development authorities, as well as on staff at the National Main Street Center, where she traveled the country consulting with numerous downtown revitalization programs. In addition to her duties with RISE Chorales, she also has a busy consulting company, working with numerous local businesses and non-profits, as well as being a professional organizing coach. As a singer, Sullivan was the founder and managing director of Ensemble Con Spirito, a women's sacred music ensemble, and now sings with the Goliards, an early music ensemble. She has three musically-talented daughters, and with them, her husband and a Havanese named Geraldine, lives in Savannah.
Emma Huennekens is a senior Vocal Performance major at Georgia Southern University and will be graduating in May with a Bachelor of Music. She has been found on the stage in various performances throughout her collegiate career and will be performing in Street Scene, as her last operatic role at Georgia Southern. She looks forward to moving back to Savannah and is excited to be actively auditioning for many opportunities in the future. Ms. Emma is ecstatic to have the opportunity to work with Rise Chorales and be their Vocal Coach. She cannot wait to be able to share what she has been learning the past four years at Georgia Southern and hopes to continue learning while working with RISE Chorales.