Donna Burke | |
---|---|
Birth name | Donna Margaret Burke |
Born | 12 December 1964 |
Origin | Perth, Western Australia, Australia |
Genres | Pop, jazz |
Occupation(s) | Singer, narrator, voice actress, businesswoman, teacher |
Instruments | Vocals |
Years active | 1987–present |
Labels | Dag |
Associated acts | Ganime |
Website | donnaburke |
Donna Burke (born 12 December 1964 in Perth, Australia) is an Australian singer, voice actress, and businesswoman.
Burke graduated from Edith Cowan University. Her education included "operatic voice, speech and drama", and she received classical voice training for ten years.
From 1989 to 1995 Burke taught Media, English and Religious Education to senior students at Chisholm Catholic College. She moved to Japan in 1996 and initially worked as a teacher of English before obtaining some recording work.
Burke married Bill Benfield, a British former teacher. In 2004, Burke and Benfield started a record label, Dagmusic, which catered for foreign artists. Burke released her debut album, Lost and Found, through Dagmusic.
Burke has worked as a freelance announcer at NHK since 1999. She also is the lyricist for numerous Japanese TV commercials, anime songs, and J-pop group tunes.
Burke created Hotteeze in 2004, a company she created to export Japanese heat pads worldwide.
Burke's voice has been used in Japan since 2005 for announcements on the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train system. Her voice is also used in Narita Airport Delta lounges and in English-language guidance for the Emperor Showa Memorial Museum.
In 2007, Burke narrated a documentary titled Climate in Crisis - Part 1, which won the 2007 silver medal for Environment/Ecology at the New York Television Festival and the 2007 Earth Vision Award at the Tokyo Global Environmental Film Festival.