Curriculum Vitae: The Course of Life
Experience
- The Gottabees
- Various
- Brookline Porchfest
- Brookline Music School - Staff
- Brookline Music School - Faculty
- Endicott College
- TuneFoolery
- JamPlay.com
- Somerville Theatre
- Beck Song Reader
- TimeStamp
- Fort Port Theatre Company
- Bent Wit Cabaret
- Elephant Tango Ensemble
- Newton Community Education
- Liz Linder
- CV PDF
- All
Co-producer, Arranger & Performer
When Beck released his Song Reader book, Brendan connected with over 150 musicians and dancers to bring the written music to life with a stage version of the score at the historic Somerville Theatre. The event was covered by Boston Globe, Boston Herald & WBUR’s Radio Boston.
Brendan's Notes
This was a huge show. Co-producer Karin Webb and I put the whole thing together by asking our friends and colleagues to join us on an adventure of exploring new music together.
Beck released Song Reader in early December 2012. It was an "album" of twenty songs written in sheet music format - you had to be able to read musical notation to make any sense of it.
We worked out a schedule so that when Song Reader was released, the musicians would get first dibs at learning the songs and then submit a demo to the dancers to put together the choreography. After eleven weeks of new collaborations, epic rehearsals, and press promotions, it culminated in a nearly sold-out performance at the Somerville Theatre.
It's was a momentous event and a great statement of community, excellence, and trust. I'll never forget it.
Song Reader Info
Cast & Crew:
Courtney Peix, Jennifer Hicks, Sean Fielder, Mary Widow, Femme Bones, Belle Gunz, Jane Doe, Lisa Dempsey, Pamela Passion, Sugar Dish, Sarah Rabdau, Peter Moore, Krissy Skare, 3rian King, Singer Mali, Mary Bichner, Kristen Ford, Lainey Schooltree, Brendan Burns, Jess Fox, John Purcell, Vessela Stoyanova, Tony Leva, Stephen J. Walther Jr., Ants Conley, Matt Graber, Jade Sylvan, Molly Zenobia, Kathy Olson, Randy Pingrey, David Aquilina, Brendan Higgins, Derek VanWormer, Chris Anderson, Jesse Armeding, Phillip Ouellette, Sam Reid, Neil Helme, Eric Royer, Jonah Sacks, Jennifer Howard, Andrew Conahan, Adam Cat, Kevin Sawyer, Scott Miller, Dan Barch, Joel Simches, Shawn Marquis, Will Ragano, Tom Korkidis, Nick Dinnerstein, Christopher McClain, Abby Swindler, Adam Chedd, Noah Benjamin, Max Condon, Matt Marcus, Eli Shanks, Honey Pie, Dinah Deville, Bunny FrouFrou, Avery Bargar, Rebecca Lehrhoff, Rachael Rosner, Richard Leek, Porcelain Dalya, Lauren Robbins, Lily Kate, David Dowling, Jane Doe, Landis Darling, Christina Fritsch, Ansley Masters, Vizma Sanders, Valda Grinbergs, Rachel Rossi, Hillary Rider, Maija Alksnitis, Natasha Sorokin, Laila Gudrais, Leah Hennessy, Alison Wallisch, Angel Roy, Rebecca Sullivan, Maureen Festa, Erika Musicmaker, Rebecca Glucklich, Lindsey Reed, Kristen Scioli, Linnea Herzog, Allix Mortis, Jennifer Donovan, Zaiga Alksnitis, Megan Burns, Amanda Lapham, Ksenija Broks, Sarah Ernst-Edwards, Zoë Krohne, Amanda Bedford, Deirdre Doran, Gordon Bedford, Daniel Rosensweig, David Joy, Jayme Rubenstein, Michael Glashow, Greg Shea, Mike Lapham, Johnny Lapham, Michael Breen, Rob Guptill, Liam Sullivan, Jonathan Butler, Arnis Ansons, Matt Samolis, Janis Sanders, James M. Johnson, JP Baillieul, Zach Alexander, Sarah Paterson, Susan Kaup, Justin Moore, Hans Wendland, Gonzalo Plaza, Aaron Cohen, Toby Chandler, Stephanie Howell, Brian Bakofen, Sarah Hopkins, Elizabeth Wood, Carly Jurman, Elizabeth Bean, and Jacob Sherburne.
Act 1
1. Saint Dude
- 3rian King / Lisa Dempsey
2. Do We? We Do
- Kristen Ford Band / Femme Bones
3. Eyes That Say “I Love You”
- Schooltree / Mary Widow
4. I’m Down
- Brookline Music School All Stars / Jennifer Hicks
5. Old Shanghai
- Mary Bichner & Brendan Burns / Singer Mali
6. We All Wear Cloaks
- Steve Walther Orchestra / Boston Tap Company
7. Why Did You Make Me Care?
- Mary Bichner w/ Strings / Pamela Passion
8. Don’t Act Like Your Heart Isn’t Hard
- Molly Zenobia / Jane Doe
9. The Wolf Is On The Hill
- Krissy Skare + Choir / Sugar Dish (aka Vanessa White)
10. Please Leave A Light On When You Go
- Sarah Rabdau / UnAmerika’s Sweetheart Karin Webb
Act 2
11. America, Here’s My Boy
- Singer Mali / Jennifer Hicks
12. Sorry
- Endation / Jane Doe
13. Rough On Rats
- Steve Walther Orchestra / Femme Bones
14. Last Night You Were A Dream
- Lainey Schooltree / Belle Gunz
15. Mutilation Rag
- Vessela & Tony Leva / Contrapose Dance
16. Now That Your Dollar Bills Have Sprouted Wings
- Highland Drifters / Contrapose Dance
17. Heaven’s Ladder
- Count Zero / Sugar Dish (aka Vanessa White)
18. Just Noise
- Kristen Ford / Boston Tap Company
19. The Last Polka
- Burns and Webb
20. Title Of This Song
- Jade Sylvan /UnAmerika’s Sweetheart Karin Webb
Education & Skills
Berklee College of Music
1994 - 1998
Bachelor of Arts
- Major: Professional Music with a focus on arranging & composition
- Volunteer: Berklee's Music Mentoring program; teaching gifted High-School students in the Boston Community
Private Studies
1998 - 2009
Master Training
- Jay Weik
- Tim Miller
- Charlie Banacos
Computer Skills
Software
- Google Workspace
- Microsoft Office
- Adobe Creative Suite
- Final Cut Pro X
- iMovie
- Logic Pro X
- Garageband
- Sibelius
Website Design
- Craft CMS
- Wordpress
- Languages:
- HTML
- CSS
- Twig