BIOGRAPHY
Daniel Burwasser, born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, is an American composer, percussionist, and teacher. The grandson of opera singer Leo Burwasser, Burwasser has been writing and playing music since the age of 5. Originally a student of the piano, he eventually progressed to other forms of percussion, including drum set and orchestral percussion. He received a Bachelor of Music degree from Temple University, and then went on to receive his Master of Arts degree from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in Music Composition. During that time he studied with many of the music world's leading contemporary composers including Robert Moevs, Charles Wuorinen, Noel DaCosta, David Olan and David Del Tredici. This myriad of influences can be heard in the diversity of Burwasser's own works. He has received grants from The American Music Center and Meet the Composer.
Critics have described Burwasser's music as highly communicative, emotionally charged, actively engaging, refreshingly lyrical, and displaying a fine sense of balance and proportion. His works have been performed throughout the United States as well as in South Korea, Armenia, Slovakia, and Russia. He is better known as the composer of works such as Flux, recorded by The Concordia Orchestra, Marin Alsop conductor; Catching Fireflies, recorded by The Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz conductor, and A Well Traveled Road recorded by the Slovak Radio Orchestra, Robert Stankovsky, conductor. His most recent recording is Whirlwind for woodwind quintet which was recorded by the Arcadian Winds and released on Navona Records. His most recent published works are Snapshots for snare drum, Puck's Game for string quartet, and Suite for Saxophone Quartet. Puck's Game has recently been recorded by the Sirius Quartet and will be released in the Spring of 2020 on Navona. It will also be performed by the same quartet on October 24, 2020 at Weill Recital Hall in New York. Burwasser's works are published by Imagine Music Publishing and Ensemble Publications.
Burwasser currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Music at Hunter College, CUNY, is Principal Director of the New York All-City Jazz Ensemble, and is on the artist roster of Polyphony Artist Management.
Critics have described Burwasser's music as highly communicative, emotionally charged, actively engaging, refreshingly lyrical, and displaying a fine sense of balance and proportion. His works have been performed throughout the United States as well as in South Korea, Armenia, Slovakia, and Russia. He is better known as the composer of works such as Flux, recorded by The Concordia Orchestra, Marin Alsop conductor; Catching Fireflies, recorded by The Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz conductor, and A Well Traveled Road recorded by the Slovak Radio Orchestra, Robert Stankovsky, conductor. His most recent recording is Whirlwind for woodwind quintet which was recorded by the Arcadian Winds and released on Navona Records. His most recent published works are Snapshots for snare drum, Puck's Game for string quartet, and Suite for Saxophone Quartet. Puck's Game has recently been recorded by the Sirius Quartet and will be released in the Spring of 2020 on Navona. It will also be performed by the same quartet on October 24, 2020 at Weill Recital Hall in New York. Burwasser's works are published by Imagine Music Publishing and Ensemble Publications.
Burwasser currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Music at Hunter College, CUNY, is Principal Director of the New York All-City Jazz Ensemble, and is on the artist roster of Polyphony Artist Management.
