Robert Duncan (composer)

Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Duncan was born into a family with deep musical history.^[2] 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.^[2] As a child he attended the Claude Watson School of the Performing Arts and in sixth grade he composed his first piece of music.^[3] At age 16 in high school, he landed his first gig scoring a promotional video for the local Board of Education.^[3] As an extra-curricular activity, Duncan studied the pipe organ and trumpet^[3] before later earning a bachelor's degree in music at York University.^[2]

After graduating, Duncan spent the next five years apprenticing with two Canadian composers^[4] and participated in the ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop.^[3] He wanted to do more, wanted to write scores for live orchestra, but he thought the chances of succeeding in Canada were slim,^[4] so in 2001^[5] he moved to Hollywood, Los Angeles.^[4] Shortly after this move, Duncan was hired as a series composer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.^[3] After the show ended, he started to land his own^{[clarification needed]} television and film scoring assignments.^[2] 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.,^[5] he is best known for his work on Castle.

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.^[3]

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.^[6]