BIOGRAPHY

​Daniel Burwasser was born in New Brunswick, NJ, 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, Meet the Composer.  As a composer, Burwasser has scored music for the audio versions of children's books and for cable television productions. 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. His most recent published works are Snapshots for Snare Drum, Puck's Game for String Quartet, and Suite for Saxophone Quartet. Burwasser's works are published by Imagine Music and Ensemble Publications.
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Burwasser currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Music at Hunter College, CUNY and is Principal Director of the New York All-City Jazz Ensemble.