My goal is to create the best quality music possible as a composer, conductor, and educator.
As an individual, my mission is to produce music of the utmost quality through my unwavering passion for composition, conducting, and education. I firmly believe that these three elements are the cornerstones of creating music that is not only aesthetically pleasing but also intellectually stimulating. My ultimate objective is to inspire and educate others through my steadfast commitment to excellence in all facets of music production.
My Story
My musical journey began at a very early age. I was surrounded by music - from going to church every Sunday, to hearing the amazing talents of the Glenn Miller Orchestra at my grandfather's house, music was a huge part of my life from the start. I began to be able to come home from mass each week, head to my keyboard, and immediately be able to play all of the hymns by ear. This was one of the first awakening moments of my musical future.
By the age of 6, I was studying piano privately; by 7, I was "improvising" melodies and chord progressions. When fifth grade came, I was accompanying the chorus at their concert. That was also the first year I started to learn the trombone. I loved it!
In middle school, I became aware of transpositions with the other instruments in the band. I started to sight-transpose some of the baritone saxophone parts on the trombone for fun! In the eighth grade, I started composing music (or what I thought was music at that time). I gave up trying out for the school soccer team because practices conflicted with my piano and trombone lessons. I joined a community-based group of ensembles and performed in their Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble.
Once I started high school, I knew that music was my future. I tailored my schedule over the next four years to allow me to take every music course offered and participate in every music ensemble (except for Vocal Jazz) by the time I graduated. I also began learning the euphonium during my freshman year. My love for music theory and composition began to soar - every time we learned a new concept, I would race to a piano and begin to improvise using the new technique, learning ways to incorporate it into my compositions and arrangements. As a senior, I was fortunate enough to perform in a local concerto competition on euphonium and won first place. I received numerous awards from the music department as well, including the John Philip Sousa Award, the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award, and the Semper Fidelis Award.
My undergraduate years were truly remarkable. Playing trombone and euphonium in the university Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Band, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and Jazz Combo, I was extremely busy. I began to formally study conducting., and it instantly became a new language that I fell in love with. I also wrote a trombone quartet, a blues, and a three-movement brass quintet - which was premiered at my senior trombone recital.
After undergrad, I began pursuing a Master's degree that worked with my full-time teaching schedule. I was composing a bit on the side and conducting an ensemble outside of the regular school day, but I wanted to learn more... I had to get better. The month after I completed that Master's degree, I immediately began a second one - this time in Wind Conducting.
As a wind conducting student, my eyes, ears, and heart were completely opened up and transformed. It was one of the best professional decisions I ever made. While studying there, I was tempted to continue my studies and pursue a Doctorate in Wind Conducting as a doctoral assistant. As exciting as this idea was, I was recently married and my wife, Cheryl, and I had plans for starting a family. But the dream of having a doctorate never left my head or my heart.
Many years (and two beautiful children later), I received an email from a local college offering a scholarship award if I would pursue a doctorate and play in the Wind Ensemble. I knew this was my call to action, and I immediately enrolled in the program and began my doctorate in Music Composition and Arranging.