I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t interested in music. I was fortunate to grow up in a time and within a community in which music was highly valued. Everyone had record collections. Everyone loved to talk about what they were listening to. When I got together with friends, we listened to music. Music was always playing and I was always listening. 

I was very self motivated and driven to learn. I loved to read everything that I could get my hands on. My interest in studying music began at around nine years old. Within walking distance from where I grew up, there was a used book store called 1001 Paperbacks.  The kind owner would sell me boxes of books for a dollar or two. I acquired quite a collection of music textbooks including titles on music theory, score reading, harmony, counterpoint, and even orchestration. Not far from there, still within walking distance, was the public library where I could check out further reading, but also they had a great selection of vinyl records. I spent every waking moment reading and listening, a habit which continues to this day. How very fortunate I was to have access to those two wonderful places and the incredible people who worked there. That was the very beginning of a lifelong journey.

As a teenager, I studied Classical and Jazz guitar privately which helped to further my studies, and taught me the finer points of good technique. From there, I enrolled in Classical Guitar at the University of Louisville, and Jazz Guitar and Improvisation at Bellarmine College. During this time, I also played in several bands and various ensembles: everything from folk and Celtic groups, blues, rock, jazz, Classical guitar trios and quartets, as well as solo recitals. At the time, I was primarily a guitarist, but upon transcribing from other instruments and arranging music for several of the ensembles, I began to branch out to other instruments  such as the piano, flute, mandolin, bouzouki, and bass.

From 1994-2022, I was a full time music teacher specializing in multiple guitar styles and music theory, working with all age groups. My goal as a teacher is to equip students with the proper tools so that they can become their own teachers and find their own unique voices as musicians. During this time, I would write music for each individual student to help them focus on specific performance and composition techniques. It was a wonderful challenge to compose music with such specific parameters. 

I still maintain a few students, but currently I am focused primarily on composing. My work includes a large catalog of pieces for solo instruments, duos, trios, quartets, and chamber groups. Featured instruments include several varieties of acoustic and electric guitars, flutes, piano, electric bass, mandolin, bouzouki, tenor guitar, violin, viola, cello, contrabass, and voice. I’ve recently completed a song cycle for voice and piano to poems by Emily Dickinson.

Currently, I am working on a project inspired by the term Gesamtkunstwerk,  meaning a work of art that strives to use many art forms. For this project, I am writing music that forms a story and an accompanying book. The narrative will be part memoir, journal entries, and letters that delve into the life of a composer/writer and the associated struggles and joys. It begins with a specific night and describes what a typical night’s work looks like, and then reflects back on crucial life experiences that led up to that night. The music will be primarily instrumental, but closely follows the text in the accompanying book. In the spirit of Gesamtkunstwerk, the project will also feature contributions by other creative artists.