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]
Career
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[clarify] 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 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]
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