Louis Burkot

Glee Club Director

YOU MAY NOT REMEMBER the names Homer P. Whitford and Franklin McDuffee '21, the lyricist and composer of "Dartmouth Undying." You may not know Louis Burkot, either. But if a chill still runs down your spine when you hear the Glee Club perform, you're at least familiar with one of Dartmouth's most unsung teachers. On second thought, Burkot—director of the Glee Club since 1981—isn't exactly unsung: from four years in the group, I can attest that he does plenty of singing. And there's no one better at shaping young voices.

No matter how accomplished the Glee Club has become in his 15-year tenure, though, Burkot is most recognizable among alumni for leading "Dartmouth Undying" at alumni functions and reunion weekends. The song is poignant, bittersweet, and—I was reminded at my own recent reunion— somewhat ironic. Dartmouth, there is no music for our singing, it begins. But as we did as students, we raise our voices in song and deny those words. United in harmony under Burkot's baton, time falls away. We are seniors again, nostalgic for a place we haven't yet left.

For 15 years, Louis Burkot has lifted voices in song.