He found a wide palette of musical textures with synthesizers, and the original sampler, the Mellotron.

After spending time in college studying music theory and composition, Richard moved to Los Angeles where he became a sound designer for E-mu Systems in Santa Cruz and engineer/synth programmer for EFX systems in Burbank.

Richard Burmer died of heart disease on Saturday, September 9, 2006, in Saginaw, Michigan, at the age of 50.

A 2007 Hearts of Space radio show episode entitled "Across the View" (Program #794) was dedicated to his memory.

The radio show Echoes released a tribute podcast for Burmer on the tenth anniversary of his death in 2016.