Exactly one year after the death of their school's namesake, students at the Charles Burrell Visual & Performing Arts Campus in Aurora performed to honor their beloved Mr. Burrell.
Members of the Charles Burrell String Quartet and Elite Wind Ensemble participated in a new event called Tribute to Icons designed to honor the legacy of prominent Black members of the Denver metro community.
Tribute to Icons was created by Minister Daryl J. Walker who oversees music at Shorter Community AME Church in Denver. On June 17, 2025, community icons Charles Burrell and Daniel Raybon both passed away. That day also happened to be Walker's birthday so he spent the past year developing a way to honor them.
Walker hosted the Tribute to Icons event on June 17 at the Shorter Community AME Church. It attracted dozens of people eager to commemorate Burrell and Raybon.
Charles Burrell is known as the "Jackie Robinson of classical music" for being the first person of color to sign a contract with a symphony orchestra. He played with the Denver Symphony Orchestra (now called the Colorado Symphony) for 50 years and passed away last year at the age of 104.
The musical performances of the Burrell students paid tribute to Mr. Burrell's legacy and were led by Jimmy Day, Colorado's 2023 Teacher of Year and the first Black man to earn that award. Mr. Day is the instrumental music teacher at Burrell K-8.
In addition to honoring Mr. Burrell, the event also honored Mr. Raybon who directed a counseling support program for students of color at the University of Colorado. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Burrell Arts Campus and CU's Center for Cultural Connections & Community.