Biography
Caleb Burhans was born in 1980 in Monterey, CA to Ron and Venus Burhans. He grew up listening to his father play rock n’ roll, who in the 60’s and 70’s played on tour with Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers and the Everly Brothers. Caleb’s musical studies began as a boy soprano at the age of nine in Houston, TX. In 1990 he moved to Janesville, WI where he studied violin, piano, music theory and composition, as well as picking up viola, cello, bass, percussion, mandolin, guitar, electric bass and conducting. During his years in High School, Caleb participated in such musical endeavors as choir, orchestra, strolling strings, jazz band and punk band. After graduating from High School in 1997, he attended Interlochen Arts Academy before moving on to the Eastman School of Music. While at Eastman, Caleb studied violin, viola, voice, composition, chamber music, orchestral music, baroque performance practice and contemporary music. Caleb graduated from Eastman with a bachelor’s degree in viola performance and composition. In the summer of 2003, Caleb, his wife Martha Cluver moved to New York City, where they now reside. Caleb specializes in early music, contemporary music, pop/rock music, and free improv. His main instruments are violin, viola, guitar, piano and singing countertenor. His compositions range from concertos to techno. In addition to his career as a freelance violinist, violist and countertenor, Caleb is a member of the Trinity on Wall Street Choir, Philadelphia’s Schola Nova, the new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound as well as the bands Dialects, it’s not you, it’s me and Beyondo. He has been heralded by the New York Times as, “animated and versatile” and being a, “sweet voiced countertenor”.
As a string player, Caleb has played with the Charleston Symphony, Madison Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Steve Reich Ensemble, Michael Gordon Band, Ensemble21, Tactus Contemporary Ensemble, University at Buffalo’s Slee Sinfonietta, Susie Kelly String Quartet, Ensemble Multicolour and the Rochester Bach Ensemble. As a singer he has worked with the New York Ensemble for Early Music, the Vox Vocal Ensemble, Christ Church Rochester and Downtown United Presbyterian Rochester. He’s been a member of the bands, Access to Gel, Eating Dead Deer Sex Machine, Sauce, Flesh Magnet, Mike Gamble’s Multi-Mediarchestra, and Nast, as well as the techno duo Bleknlok.
As a recording artist Caleb has recorded for Nonesuch, Harmonia Mundi France, Universal, Virgin, Winter & Winter, Bridge, Naxos, Ipecac, Lujo, Cantaloupe, Hanssler, MSR Classics, Hybrid, Vagrant, Arthaus Musik, Sweet Spot and Oxford Press. He has worked with conductors such as David Robertson, Michael Tilson Thomas, Brad Lubman and Paul O’Dette. Caleb’s principal violin teachers have been Norman Paulu, Almita and Roland Vemos, Eugene Purdue and Lynn Blakeslee. His sole viola teacher was John Graham and he has studied voice with Robert Issacs. His composition teachers have been David Liptak, Bob Morris, Joseph Schwantner and Augusta Read Thomas.
As a champion of new music, Caleb has premiered numerous works as well as working with such composers as La Monte Young, Lou Harrison, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, John Adams, Meredith Monk, David Lang, Michael Gordon, Jacob Ter Veldhuis, Poul Ruders, Per Norgard, Roger Reynolds, George Crumb, Brian Ferneyhough, Martin Bresnik, David Liptak, Brad Lubman, Augusta Read Thomas and Bernard Rands. He has been commissioned by various new music ensembles including the Albany Symphony, Tarab Cello Ensemble, Janus and Eastman’s Musica Nova Ensemble. His music has been performed throughout North America and Europe. His works have also been performed by faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory, Eastman School of Music, University of Wisconsin Madison and Smith College. They have won awards such as the Music Educators National Conference Composition Competition and Eastman’s Bernard and Rose Sernoffsky Prize. He has been featured on newmusicbox.org performing his own works. As a violin soloist, he’s played with the Beloit Janesville Symphony, Eastman’s Ossia Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound and Eastman’s Collegium Musicum. As a countertenor soloist he’s sung with the Brockport Symphony, Rochester Bach Ensemble, Alarm Will Sound, Trinity on Wall Street Choir, Manhattan School of Music Percussion Ensemble, Eastman’s Musica Nova and Eastman’s Collegium Musicum. Caleb was recently the featured soloist, playing violin with Alarm Will Sound in Lou Harrison’s Suite for Violin, Piano and Small Ensemble, as well as singing countertenor on Steve Reich’s Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ on WNYC’s show “New Sounds Live” with John Schafer.
Last Edited On: 25 October 2007