Reid Kerr College

Mary Features in Reid Kerr College Publicity for Creative Arts Department .

Irish born with a passion for music, 44 year old Mary Burke has come a long way since leaving her hometown of Park in Co. Derry, Northern Ireland. With a life-long love of music and singing regularly from a very young age, Mary was also self-taught in guitar and keyboards. She took her passion for music to Scotland at the tender age of 16, where she made the decision to pursue a career in the music industry.

Mary graduated from Reid Kerr College in 2006 with a Higher National Certificate (HNC) Music, and the folk and country singer also boasts several years of personal performances as well as handling acts for a number of gigs. Mary said, "I first attended Reid Kerr in 2000 when I completed a course in Computing. My overall experience there was very positive, giving me a new lease of life and a lot of encouragement to build on my current skills."

"Seeking to expand my horizons, the move to Scotland allowed me to perform mostly Irish and Scottish traditional music where I joined an established Country band for the next 4 years. Later, when working as a solo artist, it gave me an opportunity to develop my skills within the industry and I created my first on-line country music magazine."

"Keen to develop my career not only as an artist but also within the promoting side of the business, I enrolled at Reid Kerr in 2005 to study my HNC. Studying full-time for 1 year, I covered a great range of useful subjects including Music History, Law and Recording Techniques."

"I enjoyed the practical elements of the course at Reid Kerr, particularly when we were asked to bring personal experience to our course. At that point I had been programming and directing a local music festival for a number of years and this allowed me to integrate my knowledge and experience of the event into my course work. This was a great way to showcase my abilities as a promoter as well as a performer."

Working hard for many years and patiently awaiting that big break, Mary was thrilled in 2007 when she signed a three year licensing contract with Greetrax the leading label in Scotland for her Genre. Mary produced a five track EP and sent it to Greentrax who offered her the contract the following week! She said, "My Album, 'A Song In Her Heart', has just been released and finally hit the shelves of all good record stores around the country in February 2008."

"Twenty years on after writing my first song, I feel excited and nervous, although it is very rewarding to get to this stage in my career. I am delighted with the final results of the album, it sounds fantastic. I am currently preparing to tour Britain this year, supporting legendary Irish singer songwriter Johnny McEvoy. Have been asked to support Donnie Munro at Tait Hall in Kelso on 25th July and there is a 5 day promo tour of Ireland being organised for Early april I will be doing 5 concerts in Theatres with a band from Dublin and also doing a series of magazine and radio interviews there.

"Currently things are going well, although it's been a long haul and what I learned on my course at Reid Kerr has come in very handy indeed and helped me cope with all the demands made on me. I have had to negotiate contracts both publishing and licensing and make some very important decisions regarding my Career. Greentrax have been very supportive indeed and they love the album. I am now on the publicity trail and have an agent in Ireland getting Airplay on 60 stations and planning a Tour of Ireland for me." legendary Irish of Britain Next year

"I think my year at Reid Kerr helped me develop even further as an artist and gave me the confidence and ability to go a step further. I already feel as though I am reaping the rewards from what I learned at College and heading in the right direction with some of the best knowledge and experience to carry my career forward."

Following the release of her debut album this year, Mary's incredible rise to fame was given a further boost when she was recently asked to record a song for an episode of the US smash hit TV show, 'Desperate Housewives'. Mary was invited to sing on the track which may appear in the background of a future episode. however it has been pitched to a feature film also part of which is to be filmed in Ireland, one of Mary's lecturers at Reid Kerr has been tracking her success and said, "An inspiring singer with a truly beautiful voice, Mary Burke is making a huge impression on the industry and has a bright and prosperous future ahead of her."

Reid Kerr College (website)

Reid Kerr College

Renfrew Road,

Paisley,

PA3 4DR

Scotland

Tel:0800 052 7343

http://www.reidkerr.net/

Singer-songwriter-Guitarist-recording artist & Radio Presenter

Website Designed and maintained By Mary Kathleen Burke

Buy The Debut Album now ! " A song in her heart" online at www.greentrax.com and in all good music shops online and offline worldwide. Get yours today and support Mary's Music