John Burke (American pianist)

John Burke (born 1988) is an American pianist, composer, and songwriter based in Atlanta, Georgia. Burke is best known for his solo piano albums. He has also composed scores for film, video games, and theatre.[1]

John Burke
Background information
Born1988 (age 31–32)
OriginAtlanta, Georgia, U.S.
GenresNew-age music, Jazz, Film score
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsPiano
Years active2011–present
LabelsIndependent
Websitejohnburkemusic.com

Background

Burke was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, where he studied Spanish and music at Oglethorpe University.[2] He later studied public administration at Georgia State University.[3] While in school, Burke discovered pianist George Winston and keyboardist Ray Manzarek and was inspired to become a pianist and composer.[4]

Solo piano albums

In 2011, Burke released his first solo piano album, Synesthesia, which used the neurological phenomenon of the same name to guide compositions based on colors.[5] The album was reviewed positively on English and Spanish music review websites[6] and received international radio play.[7]

In 2013, Burke released his second album, Reverie, which was nominated for Jazz Album of the Year at the solo piano music review site SoloPiano.com.[8] Reverie too received international play and review.[9]

In 2014, Burke released Chirality at a concert, the recording of which received a Telly Award.[10] After winning Jazz Album of the Year, Chirality became a finalist for Album of the Year at SoloPiano.com.[11] In an homage to Johann Sebastian Bach, Chirality used the chemical property of asymmetry as inspiration for melodies and mirrored countermelodies.[12]

In 2016, Burke released Orogen at a concert. The album used the formation of mountains as inspiration for the gradual growth of a single melody.[13] A completely self-released album,[14] Orogen was nominated for Best New Age Album for the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.[15]

Collaborative albums

In 2015, Burke released his first collaborative album, Kairos, at a concert at Oglethorpe University.[16] The album blended piano with spoken word and flute by Sandra Hughes, the co-founder of Gateway Performance Productions in Atlanta, GA.[16]

In 2017, Burke released his first multi-instrumental album, Superstratum, at a concert at Eddie's Attic in Decatur, Georgia. Each composition of Superstratum represents a layer of the earth and its atmosphere.[17][18]

In 2018, Burke released his first winter album, The Longest Night. The album featured Burke's instrumental arrangements of popular holiday tunes as well as original compositions.[19]

Film music

In 2013, Burke composed the original score for the film Juvenile Transgressions.[20]

In 2013, Burke's original piano music was featured on the documentary Going Home.[21]

In 2015, Burke composed the original score for the film Shattered Reflections, starring Lance Broadway.[22]

Stage music

In 2015, Burke composed an original solo piano score for Serenbe Playhouse's production of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, starring The Vampire Diaries' Matthew Davis.[23]

In 2017, Burke composed the original score for Synchronicity Theatre's production of Katherine Applegate's The One and Only Ivan,[24] adapted for stage by James E. Grote.[25]

In 2017, Burke composed the original score for Serenbe Playhouse's production of Robin Hood, adapted by playwright Rachel Teagle and directed by Broadway actor Paul McGill.[26][27][28] That same season, Burke composed the original score for the Playhouse's production of Macbeth, starring Drop Dead Diva's Justin Deeley.[29]

In 2018, Burke wrote music and lyrics for Red: A Crayon's Musical with author Ben Thorpe, who wrote the musical's book. The musical was an original work based on the children's book Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall.[30][31] Red: A Crayon's Musical debuted on August 7, 2018, at the Atlanta Musical Theatre Festival.[32]

Video game music

In 2019, Burke composed the original score for Sci-Ops: Global Defense, an edutainment game for PC created by Plasma Games.[33]

Discography
  • 2011 Synesthesia
  • 2013 Reverie
  • 2014 Chirality
  • 2015 Kairos
  • 2015 A Streetcar Named Desire (Original Soundtrack)
  • 2016 Orogen
  • 2017 Superstratum
  • 2018 The Longest Night
  • 2019 Sci-Ops: Global Defense (Original Soundtrack)
gollark: I mean, the compress CLI thing, it works fine apart from that.
gollark: Muahahaha. Now I just need to implement "compress", and also any incremental compression whatsoever.
gollark: This was partly ironic. It is horrible and inconsistent. The rules vary and are not obvious. There is an unofficial standard but not everything supports it, most things add extra stuff on, and you need 3000 lines of parser code to support it.
gollark: It's so consistent, and there are obvious simple rules which let you know exactly what it'll look like, plus it can be easily published on the web and viewed at arbitrary screen sizes.
gollark: This is why I do all my documentation as Markdown.

References
  1. "John Burke". SoloPiano. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  2. "Oglethorpe Alumnus Releases Solo Piano Album - The Source". Source.oglethorpe.edu. 2012-02-14. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  3. "The Pianist Among The Policy Students - Georgia State University". Gsu.edu. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  4. "The music of pianist John Burke". the G channel. 2015-06-13. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  5. "Synesthesia & Music | John Burke's Sound to Color Compositions". Synesthesiatest.org. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  6. Alejandro Clavijo (2015-03-04). "John Burke – Synesthesia | Reviews New Age - Discovering Music". Reviews New Age. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  7. "spotlights & reviews pianist John Burke". Cre8tive Reviews. 2014-08-20. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  8. "2013 SoloPiano Album of the Year Nominations". SoloPiano. 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  9. Alejandro Clavijo (2015-03-16). "John Burke – Reverie | Reviews New Age - Discovering Music". Reviews New Age. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  10. "The 37th Annual TELLY Awards | Winners". Tellyawards.com. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  11. "News & Media". Solopiano.com. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  12. "John Burke delivers another impressive masterpiece with "Chirality"". Cre8tive Reviews. 2014-12-27. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  13. "John Burke releases new album, Orogen – Review". Cre8tive Reviews. 2016-05-18. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  14. Georgia Public Broadcasting. "Unsigned Atlanta Pianist Earns New Age Grammy Nod For 'Orogen'". Retrieved 2017-03-24.
  15. "59th Annual Grammy Awards Nominees". Grammy Awards. 2016-12-06. Retrieved 2016-12-08.,
  16. "Pianist John Burke draws inspiration from diverse sources for his original music". ArtsATL. 2015-06-11. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  17. "Pianist and Composer, John Burke, Set to Release New Album, SUPERSTRATUM". Broadway World. 2017-06-01. Retrieved 2017-06-01.,
  18. "Atlanta pianist John Burke takes listeners into Superstratum". 11 Alive News. 2017-09-08. Retrieved 2017-09-08.,
  19. "Longest Night". John Burke | Grammy-nominated Pianist & Composer. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  20. "Juvenile Transgressions". 1 January 2000. Retrieved 4 September 2016 – via IMDb.
  21. "Going Home (2013)". 14 September 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2017 – via IMDb.
  22. "Shattered Reflections". 1 November 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2016 – via IMDb.
  23. "Theatre Review: 'A Streetcar Named Desire' at Serenbe". Atlanta INtown Paper. 2015-06-18. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  24. "The One and Only Ivan". CBS46. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  25. "The One and Only Ivan". Lifeline Theatre. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
  26. "Robin Hood". Serenbe Playhouse. 2017-06-02. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
  27. "Serenbe's ROBIN HOOD to Feature Immersive Sherwood Forest, Zip Line". Broadway World Atlanta. 2017-05-16. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
  28. "Robin Hood". Serenbe Playhouse. 2017-02-06. Retrieved 2017-02-06.
  29. "MACBETH, Starring Justin Deeley, Slashes Into Serenbe Playhouse". Broadway World Atlanta. 2017-06-06. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
  30. "2018 Official Selections". The AMTF - Atlanta's Premier Musical Theatre Festival. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  31. "ATL Musical Theatre Fest Picks 4 for Year 3".
  32. "Red: Crayon's Musical, 2018 AMTF Official Selection at Out Front Theatre Company".
  33. Swings, Seven (March 5, 2020). "Sci-Ops: Global Defense". John Burke Official Website. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
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