Robert Duncan (born 1971 in Toronto, Ontario) is a composer of film and television music. He has composed music for such TV series as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Castle, as well as films such as Butterfly on a Wheel and Into the Blue 2: The Reef. He has been associated with writer/producer Shawn Ryan, composing some of his produced TV shows including The Unit, Lie to Me, Timeless and more recently S.W.A.T.. He has received fourteen ASCAP awards.
Early life
Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Duncan was born into a family with deep musical history. His great-grandfather arranged music for silent films in England, and other relatives were closely affiliated with two of England's prominent composers, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten. As a child he attended the Claude Watson School of the Performing Arts and in sixth grade he composed his first piece of music. At age 16 in high school, he landed his first gig scoring a promotional video for the local Board of Education. As an extra-curricular activity, Duncan studied the pipe organ and trumpet before later earning a bachelor's degree in music at York University.
Career After graduating, Duncan spent the next five years apprenticing with two Canadian composers and participated in the ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop. He wanted to do more, wanted to write scores for live orchestra, but he thought the chances of succeeding in Canada were slim, so in 2001 he moved to Hollywood, Los Angeles. Shortly after this move, Duncan was hired as a series composer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. After the show ended, he started to land television and film scoring assignments. Landing many small-screen projects including The Chicago Code, Terriers, The Gates, Lie to Me, The Unit, Point Pleasant, Tru Calling, and S.W.A.T., he is best known for his work on Castle.
Instruments
Duncan uses a variety of traditional and peculiar objects and instruments to create his scores. These objects include grand pianos, deconstructed pianos, metal brushes, hot-rod exhaust pipes, fire extinguishers, trumpet, guitar, pipe organ, a variety of drums, and even objects from junk yards all over Los Angeles.
Cameos Duncan made on-screen appearances on Castle season 4, episode 14 “The Blue Butterfly” in the opening scene as a jazz club pianist on the baby grand piano as well as season 8, episode 8 "Mr. and Mrs. Castle" as a cruise-ship pianist.
Scores Television series Year Show Notes 1996 PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal Co-composed with Lou Natale 2001 Starhunter 2001 Blue Murder Co-composed with Lou Natale 2002 Buffy the Vampire Slayer 2003 Tru Calling 2005 Point Pleasant 2006 The Unit 2006 Vanished 2009 Castle 2009 Lie to Me 2010 The Gates 2010 Terriers 2011 The Chicago Code 2012 Last Resort 2012 Missing 2014 Rush 2016 The Family 2016 Mad Dogs 2016–2018 Timeless 2017–2023 S.W.A.T. 2018 The Crossing 2018Take Two2021–2023The Equalizer2023The Night Agent
Film Year Film 2005 Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave 2005 Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis 2007 Butterfly on a Wheel 2009 Into the Blue 2: The Reef 2011 The Entitled 2017 Spark
References
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