Rob Burger

Born in New York, composer and performer Rob Burger built his musical reputation in the Bay Area during the 1990's, after having received his formal education at the University of Massachusetts in improvisation and classical piano. It was en route to the West Coast that Rob picked up the accordion as a natural extension of his piano studies, and shortly thereafter, that he kicked off his professional career toting his squeezebox alongside the other Bill Frisell Band members on the jazz luminary's North American and European tours. Rob subsequently co-founded the Tin Hat Trio with whom he toured extensively, co-produced, co-wrote, and recorded four full-length records on various labels. In the meanwhile, Rob utilized his multi-instrumental capabilities collaborating with a diverse range of artists including Rufus Wainwright, Lucinda Williams, Antony, Norah Jones, Beth Orton, Iron & Wine, Calexico, Richard Buckner, Marianne Faithfull, Susana Baca, Laurie Anderson and John Zorn. At the end of 2002, after returning to the East Coast, he released a recording of his own compositions entitled "Lost Photograph" on the Tzadik label. A remarkably versatile musician, Rob has written children's piano music through commissions from the NEA, and has also applied his textural and colorful palette of sounds to the musical world of film, TV, radio, theatre, and dance. In 2005, Rob was appointed as musical arranger for the Leonard Cohen documentary "I'm Your Man," and has contributed his musical prowess to several other acclaimed films such as "Waitress," 2007, "The Treatment," 2006, "Everything Is Illuminated," 2005, and "The Good Girl," 2002. Rob has also composed for the multi-media retrospective "Timescapes: A Portrait Of New York," which now remains a permanent fixture at the Museum of the City of New York, and most recently composed the score for the film entitled "Diminished Capacity," directed by Terry Kinney, starring Matthew Broderick, Alan Alda, and Virginia Madsen. He lives in Brooklyn.