It's not often that you get a rookie with 30 years of drum corps experience, someone trained in the “old school,” (“Can somebody put the Xs on my music?”) with the talent to hold his own with the best soloists of his day. That was Bobby Burke when he joined the Sunrisers in 1987. A reluctant soloist because of his inability to read music (someone had to teach him his parts one note at a time,) he nevertheless took on feature solos that first year and excelled. For all of his efforts, he was named Sunrisers' “Rookie of the Year” for 1987.

Bobby could play sweet ballads, screaming obligatos, or perform precise triple tongueing passages with ease and panache. In 1988, the Drum Corps Associates recognized his abilities and voted him “Best Soloist” at the DCA finals in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

In 1995, Bobby was given the ultimate accolade by the Sunrisers when he was named “Sunriser of the Year.”

But there's more to Bobby Burke than just a hot lip. Bobby was a leader. He used his wealth of experience and talent, and his age to motivate the younger members of the horn line, stressing that soloists didn't win championships but that solid line work did. He served as an interface between the horn players and the instructors. Rich Guillen used to refer to Bobby as, “the elder statesman” of the horn line. Bobby also spent hours mentoring individual horn players. He focused not on just learning to be a better horn player but on how to be a better member.

It is the recognition of this unique combination of talent and wisdom that brings Bobby Burke's name before us and into the Sunrisers' Hall of Fame, Class of 2008.