Donna Burke
Encyclopedia
Donna Burke, a singer, narrator
, and entrepreneur, was born in Perth
, Australia
, and moved to Tokyo
, Japan
in 1996. She lives with her guitarist and husband Bill Benfield and her three cats.
Formerly a high school English teacher in Perth, she gave up that pursuit and went on the path of singing and voice acting. Burke has had over 10 years of classical voice lessons, and does jazz
, classical, techno
, folk
, and rock
concerts. Because of this, she has been described in reviews as "one of the world's most versatile singers". Her last album entitled "Blue Nights" came out in 2005 and featured many of her original songs like "Don't I look Pretty" and "Quiet Night".
Burke has 3 solo albums, a celtic compilation and a maxi single, and can be heard on many anime
and video game soundtracks, including Turn-A Gundam, Haibane Renmei
, Vandread
, Tokimeki Memorial
, Tales of Legendia
, Final Fantasy
, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
. She has acted in several video games, such as Out run 2 ,and the Shenmue
, and the Silent Hill
series, and has been credited in several OVA's such as Strange Dawn
, Hoshi no Koe
and Trip Trek and the anime series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's
. Donna is the voice of Hel in Boktai
, Ursula in Lunar Knights
, and Norah in the Sega game "Let's go Jungle". Additionally, she has been credited as a lyricist for numerous Japanese TV commercials, anime, and J-POP groups.
Burke's voice is well known in Japan as the guidance voice since 2003 on the Tokaido Shinkansen
bullet train system. Her voice is heard in Narita Airport Northwest Airlines lounges and as the English guidance for the Emperor Showa Memorial Museum. Burke has worked as a freelance announcer at NHK since 1999 on various documentaries, NHK Specials and reading the nightly bilingual news. She narrated the award winning Climate in Crisis- Part 1 which won the 2007 silver medal (Environment Ecology) at the New York Television Festival
and the EARTH VISION AWARD in 2007 at the Tokyo Global Environmental Film Festival.
Burke started an agency called Dagmusic in 2004 for other foreign singers, voice actors, composers and musicians living in Tokyo. Donna splits her time between music and Hotteeze, a company she created to export Japanese heat pads worldwide.
Narrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
, and entrepreneur, was born in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and moved to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1996. She lives with her guitarist and husband Bill Benfield and her three cats.
Formerly a high school English teacher in Perth, she gave up that pursuit and went on the path of singing and voice acting. Burke has had over 10 years of classical voice lessons, and does jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, classical, techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, and rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
concerts. Because of this, she has been described in reviews as "one of the world's most versatile singers". Her last album entitled "Blue Nights" came out in 2005 and featured many of her original songs like "Don't I look Pretty" and "Quiet Night".
Burke has 3 solo albums, a celtic compilation and a maxi single, and can be heard on many anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
and video game soundtracks, including Turn-A Gundam, Haibane Renmei
Haibane Renmei
is a 13-episode anime series based on the work of Yoshitoshi ABe. It began as an original dōjinshi comic series, , but this was quickly superseded by the anime and was never completed...
, Vandread
Vandread
is a Japanese anime series directed by Takeshi Mori and created by Gonzo and Media Factory animation studios. It also utilizes well-animated characters and cleanly rendered CG action sequences....
, Tokimeki Memorial
Tokimeki Memorial
is a popular dating simulation series by Konami. It consists of 6 main games in addition to a large number of spin-offs. The games are notable in the dating sim genre for being highly nonlinear. Their nickname amongst their fans is the contraction TokiMemo....
, Tales of Legendia
Tales of Legendia
, is a role-playing game that was developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was released in Japan on August 25, 2005 and in the United States on February 7, 2006. Tales of Legendia's characteristic genre name is . It is the seventh mothership title in the Tales...
, Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
is a video game produced by Konami and Kojima Productions that was released for the PlayStation Portable in 2010. Peace Walker is the fourth Metal Gear title for the PSP, although it is only the second to be considered part of the series' main canon, following Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops...
. She has acted in several video games, such as Out run 2 ,and the Shenmue
Shenmue
is a 1999 open-world adventure video game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for the Dreamcast, produced and directed by Yu Suzuki. Suzuki coined a genre title, "FREE" , for the game, based on the interactivity and freedom he wanted to give to the player...
, and the Silent Hill
Silent Hill
is a survival horror video game series consisting of seven installments published by Konami and its subsidiary Konami Digital Entertainment. The first four games in the series, Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, 3 and 4, have been developed by an internal factor, Team Silent...
series, and has been credited in several OVA's such as Strange Dawn
Strange Dawn
is a 13-episode anime TV series created by Hal Film Maker for Pioneer LDC in 2000. The series follows the adventures of Eri and Yuko after they are transported to a strange world where all the people are very short....
, Hoshi no Koe
Voices of a Distant Star
is a Japanese anime OVA by Makoto Shinkai. It chronicles a long-distance relationship between two close friends who communicate by sending emails via their mobile phones across interstellar space...
and Trip Trek and the anime series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
is an anime television series directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, with screenplay written by Masaki Tsuzuki, and produced by Seven Arcs. It forms part of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series. The Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations broadcast thirteen episodes between October and...
and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's
is a thirteen episode sequel to Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, a magical girl alternate universe spinoff of the Triangle Heart series of games and OVAs. A third series, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, was released in 2007...
. Donna is the voice of Hel in Boktai
Boktai
Boktai is a video game series developed by Konami for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS handheld consoles. The title is an abbreviation of the series' full Japanese title Bokura no Taiyō or Our Sun. They are recognized for using a solar sensor that is a key element of gameplay...
, Ursula in Lunar Knights
Lunar Knights
Lunar Knights, known in Japan as and abbreviated Boktai DS, is a science-fantasy game and is the fourth title in the Boktai series of games developed by Kojima Productions, announced at E3 2006. It begins a new story arc, and follows new protagonists and hence has also been marked as the beginning...
, and Norah in the Sega game "Let's go Jungle". Additionally, she has been credited as a lyricist for numerous Japanese TV commercials, anime, and J-POP groups.
Burke's voice is well known in Japan as the guidance voice since 2003 on the Tokaido Shinkansen
Shinkansen
The , also known as THE BULLET TRAIN, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-shinkansen with a...
bullet train system. Her voice is heard in Narita Airport Northwest Airlines lounges and as the English guidance for the Emperor Showa Memorial Museum. Burke has worked as a freelance announcer at NHK since 1999 on various documentaries, NHK Specials and reading the nightly bilingual news. She narrated the award winning Climate in Crisis- Part 1 which won the 2007 silver medal (Environment Ecology) at the New York Television Festival
New York Television Festival
The New York Television Festival is a yearly gathering of artists, fans, and executives to celebrate independent small-screen productions. It was founded in 2005, and is held in venues in New York City....
and the EARTH VISION AWARD in 2007 at the Tokyo Global Environmental Film Festival.
Burke started an agency called Dagmusic in 2004 for other foreign singers, voice actors, composers and musicians living in Tokyo. Donna splits her time between music and Hotteeze, a company she created to export Japanese heat pads worldwide.
Filmography
- Raising Heart in all Magical Girl Lyrical NanohaMagical Girl Lyrical Nanohais an anime television series directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, with screenplay written by Masaki Tsuzuki, and produced by Seven Arcs. It forms part of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series. The Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations broadcast thirteen episodes between October and...
series - Angela Orosco in Silent Hill 2Silent Hill 2Silent Hill 2 is a survival horror video game published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 and developed by Team Silent, a production group within Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo...
- Claudia Wolf in Silent Hill 3Silent Hill 3Silent Hill 3 is a survival horror video game published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 and developed by Team Silent, a production group within Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. It is the third installment in the Silent Hill series and a direct sequel to the first Silent Hill game...
- Narrator and theme song vocalist in Final Fantasy Crystal ChroniclesFinal Fantasy Crystal Chroniclesis a action role-playing game for the Nintendo GameCube. It was published by Nintendo and developed by The Game Designers Studio, a shell corporation for Square Enix's Product Development Division-2. A spin-off of the Final Fantasy series, the game spawned a metaseries of the same name...
- Anesthesia / Dr. Cutter in Rumble RosesRumble Rosesis a professional wrestling video game that was developed by Yuke's Future Media Creators and Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, and published by Konami in 2004 for the PlayStation 2. The game uses the same engine as Yuke's 2003 release WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain...
- Theme Song Vocalist in Metal Gear Solid: Peace WalkerMetal Gear Solid: Peace Walkeris a video game produced by Konami and Kojima Productions that was released for the PlayStation Portable in 2010. Peace Walker is the fourth Metal Gear title for the PSP, although it is only the second to be considered part of the series' main canon, following Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops...
- Charo's mother in Little Charo 2 NHK Kanon
- Hel in Boktai: The Sun Is in Your HandBoktai: The Sun is in Your Hand, is a video game released on the Game Boy Advance in 2003 by Konami. Produced by Hideo Kojima.The player takes the role of Django, a vampire hunter, who uses a weapon called the "Gun Del Sol" , that fires bolts of sunlight at enemies. Boktais game cartridge includes a photometric light sensor...
- Ursula in Lunar KnightsLunar KnightsLunar Knights, known in Japan as and abbreviated Boktai DS, is a science-fantasy game and is the fourth title in the Boktai series of games developed by Kojima Productions, announced at E3 2006. It begins a new story arc, and follows new protagonists and hence has also been marked as the beginning...
- Operator of the Lysithea in Voices of a Distant StarVoices of a Distant Staris a Japanese anime OVA by Makoto Shinkai. It chronicles a long-distance relationship between two close friends who communicate by sending emails via their mobile phones across interstellar space...
both Japanese and English for the DVD.
Solo discography
- Lost and Found (2001)
- Éirí na Gréine (2001)
- Donna Burke with the David Silverman Quartet (2002)
- Goodbye Nakamura [Single] (2004)
- "Blue Nights" (2005)
- "Howling at the MoonHowling at the Moon"Howling at the Moon" is a song written by Alan Menken and Sir Tim Rice, recorded by Australian singer Donna Burke. It was released on the album Shine On! Songs Volume One on 30 September 2011...
", written by Sir Tim RiceTim RiceSir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
and Alan MenkenAlan MenkenAlan Menken is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist.Menken is best known for his numerous scores for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas have each won him two Academy Awards...
, on the Tyler FoundationTyler FoundationThe Tyler Foundation is a charitable organization located in Tokyo, Japan that offers Psychosocial support to families and children with cancer. The organization has become internationally known since 2006 and has received support from international celebrities including Scott MacIntyre at the...
's charity album, Shine On! Songs Volume OneShine On! Songs Volume OneShine On! Songs Volume One is a charitable album released on September 30th, 2011 by the Shine On! Songs record label. The album's proceeds will go towards the foundation's programs to give Psychosocial support to children with cancer in Japan and their families, and an additional program to help...
(2011).
Featured discography
- The "Yamaha Educational Children's Songs" CDs / Various Artists (1997-2003 - vocals for several tracks)
- "Para Para Panic" CDs - Volumes 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 / Various Artists (2000 - vocals for several tracks)
- Konami Beatmania - "Hero" / Various Artists (2000 - vocals for several tracks)
- "ABBA Ibiza Caliente Mix" / ABBAABBAABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
, Sabu (2001 - vocals for several tracks) - Vandread: Original OVA Soundtrack 1 / Yasunori Iwasaki, Various Artists (2001 - vocal for "What a Wonderful World)
- Vandread: Original OVA Soundtrack 2 / Yasunori Iwasaki, Various Artists (2001 - vocal and lyrics for "Somedays")
- Turn-A Gundam: Original Movie Soundtrack - "Wakusei no Gogo, Bokura wa Kisu wo Shita" / Yoko KannoYoko Kannois a composer, arranger and musician best known for her work on the soundtracks for many games, anime films, TV series, live-action movies, and advertisements...
(2002 - vocal for "After All") - "Seven"/ V6V6 (band)V6 is a six-member Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates. The group debuted on November 1, 1995 with the single "Music for the People", which was used as the image song for the World Cup of Volleyball in 1995...
(2002 - lyrics for "One") - Final Fantasy Crystal ChroniclesFinal Fantasy Crystal Chroniclesis a action role-playing game for the Nintendo GameCube. It was published by Nintendo and developed by The Game Designers Studio, a shell corporation for Square Enix's Product Development Division-2. A spin-off of the Final Fantasy series, the game spawned a metaseries of the same name...
- "Morning Sky" and "Moonless Starry Night" - "RWC Music Database: Royalty-Free Music" / Various Artists (2003 - vocals for several tracks)
- Haibane Renmei: Original OVA Soundtrack 1 - "Hanenone (ハネノネ)" / Kow Otani, Masumi Sakaue (2003 - vocal and lyrics for "Wondering")
- Konami's Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA - "Star Gate Heaven" and "Star Gate Heaven (FUTURE LOVE Mix)" / Various Artists (2006 - in collaboration with Sōta Fujimori)
- Tokimeki Memorial 2 Substories: Dancing Summer Vacation - "Hero ~Dancing Summer Mix English Ver.~"
- SegaSega, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
Outrun 2OutRun 2OutRun 2 is a racing game released by Sega in 2003. Although this is the first official sequel to Out Run, it is the fifth title in the Out Run series.-Gameplay:...
- "Life Was A Bore" - The Last Remnant - "Journey's End"
- Metal Gear Solid: Peace WalkerMetal Gear Solid: Peace Walkeris a video game produced by Konami and Kojima Productions that was released for the PlayStation Portable in 2010. Peace Walker is the fourth Metal Gear title for the PSP, although it is only the second to be considered part of the series' main canon, following Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops...
- "Heavens Divide" - God EaterGod EaterGods Eater Burst is a 2011 action-adventure video game exclusively for the PlayStation Portable developed and published by Namco Bandai Games in Japan and published by D3Publisher, a sister company of Namco Bandai Games, in North America. The game was originally released in Japan as on February...
- "God and Man" - Tales of LegendiaTales of Legendia, is a role-playing game that was developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was released in Japan on August 25, 2005 and in the United States on February 7, 2006. Tales of Legendia's characteristic genre name is . It is the seventh mothership title in the Tales...
- "Hotarubi" and "My Tales" with Gab Desmond
External links
- http://www.donnaburke.com/
- Life in Japan: Donna Burke