Welcome to Daniel Burwasser

BIOGRAPHY

Daniel Burwasser, a composer, percussionist and teacher, was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Burwasser grew up in a musical family (his grandfather, Leo Burwasser, was an operatic basso, and sang on stage with the legendary Feodor Chailiapin in his native Russia). He began piano lessons at age five, and at eleven, he turned his interests to percussion instruments, which he began studying both in school and privately.While in high school,he won positions as first chair percussion in both the New Jersey Region I Band and New Jersey All-State Orchestra. Burwasser shifted his focus from performance to composition while working on his Bachelor of Music in percussion performance at Temple University. After graduating from Temple University,he went on to receive a Master of Arts degree in theory and composition from Rutgers University, where he studied with Charles Wuorinen,Robert Moevs, and Noel DaCosta.Burwasser went on to complete his Ph.D. in composition from the Graduate School of the City University of New York,where he studied with David Olan and David Del Tredici.

Burwasser has served as a panelist for both New Jersey State Council on the Arts for composition and the Maryland State Arts Council fornon-classical performance. He has also served as a music composition evaluatorfor the Delaware Division of the Arts. He has taught music at New York City Collge of Technology and Queens College. He is currently a director of instrumental music at William Cullen Bryant High School in Queens, NY.

Burwasser has received several ASCAP composer awards in addition to grants from The American Music Center and Meet the Composer. The song Dreams Die When the Dreamer Does from Burwasser’s song cycle REFLECTIONSalso recently receivedrecognition cum laudeby the judges in the third Diana Barnhart American Song Competition.

Burwasserfuses classical traditions with jazzy harmonies and lively rhythms. He has composed numerous soundtracks for children's stories and arranged for cable television.His orchestral music has been performed and recorded by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Concordia Orchestra, and the Seattle Symphony.Burwasser’s work, CATCHING FIREFLIES, was recently recorded by the Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz conducting, andreleased on the MMC label.. A WELL-TRAVELED ROAD for orchestra was also released on MMC and is part of a compilation of American orchestral music called Modern American Classics Volume 1.FLUXfor string orchestra will also be later released on MMC. Burwasser was recently commissioned by five-string electric violist Martha Mooke for VOILA!which was premiered in early 2004. Burwasser is currently at work on several pieces including a chamberopera, ONE NIGHT TOGETHER with librettist Ilsa Gilbert. As a work in progress, excerpts from the opera have already been presented: Scene 2 was produced in March 2000 by the Downtown Opera Players and in December 2000, excerpts from Scene 1 were presented by Golden Fleece Ltd.Excerpts from Scene 3 were premiered in April of 2004. Burwasser’s music is published by Ensemble Publications and MMB.



	BIOGRAPHY Daniel Burwasser, a composer, percussionist and teacher, was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Burwasser grew up in a musical family (his grandfather, Leo Burwasser, was an operatic basso, and sang on stage with the legendary Feodor Chailiapin in his native Russia). He began piano lessons at age five, and at eleven, he turned his interests to percussion instruments, which he began studying both in school and privately.While in high school,he won positions as first chair percussion in both the New Jersey Region I Band and New Jersey All-State Orchestra. Burwasser shifted his focus from performance to composition while working on his Bachelor of Music in percussion performance at Temple University. After graduating from Temple University,he went on to receive a Master of Arts degree in theory and composition from Rutgers University, where he studied with Charles Wuorinen,Robert Moevs, and Noel DaCosta.Burwasser went on to complete his Ph.D. in composition from the Graduate School of the City University of New York,where he studied with David Olan and David Del Tredici. Burwasser has served as a panelist for both New Jersey State Council on the Arts for composition and the Maryland State Arts Council fornon-classical performance. He has also served as a music composition evaluatorfor the Delaware Division of the Arts. He has taught music at New York City Collge of Technology and Queens College. He is currently a director of instrumental music at William Cullen Bryant High School in Queens, NY. Burwasser has received several ASCAP composer awards in addition to grants from The American Music Center and Meet the Composer. The song *Dreams Die When the Dreamer Does* from Burwasser’s song cycle *REFLECTIONSalso recently receivedrecognition cum laudeby the judges in the third Diana Barnhart American Song Competition. Burwasserfuses classical traditions with jazzy harmonies and lively rhythms. He has composed numerous soundtracks for children's stories and arranged for cable television.His orchestral music has been performed and recorded by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Concordia Orchestra, and the Seattle Symphony.Burwasser’s work, CATCHING FIREFLIES, was recently recorded by the Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz conducting, andreleased on the MMC label.. A WELL-TRAVELED ROAD* for orchestra was also released on MMC and is part of a compilation of American orchestral music called Modern American Classics Volume 1.FLUXfor string orchestra will also be later released on MMC. Burwasser was recently commissioned by five-string electric violist Martha Mooke for VOILA!which was premiered in early 2004. Burwasser is currently at work on several pieces including a chamberopera, *ONE NIGHT TOGETHER* with librettist Ilsa Gilbert. As a work in progress, excerpts from the opera have already been presented: Scene 2 was produced in March 2000 by the Downtown Opera Players and in December 2000, excerpts from Scene 1 were presented by Golden Fleece Ltd.Excerpts from Scene 3 were premiered in April of 2004. Burwasser’s music is published by Ensemble Publications and MMB.