In the words of the great Venezuelan conductor, Gustavo Dudamel -
I think it's a very important collaboration between the conductor and the orchestra - especially when the conductor is one more member of the orchestra in the way that you are leading, but also respecting, feeling and building the same way for all the players to understand the music.
Diverse Experience
On my way to the conductor's podium, I have been a trumpeter in orchestras, pit bands, concert bands, jazz combos, and big bands. I have trained as an operatic character tenor, played Renaissance cornetto, and have engaged in field research about Andalusian folk music. I enjoy my day job as a choral conductor and educator at the college level. Because my experience has taken me inside, outside, and in front of a diverse array of musical milieus, I feel an affinity for Maestro Dudamel's statement.
Collaborating with the Region's Finest Musicians
For ten years I was privileged to work with some of the area's most talented established and upcoming instrumental and vocal artists. Working with a blend of professional musicians and talented community members has afforded me the most gratifying possible musical experiences possible.
Since 2013, my work with regional orchestras and opera companies brought acclaim through performances of such works as Strauss's Four Last Songs, Poulenc's Organ Concerto, Donizetti's Don Pasquale and L'Elisir D'Amore, Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Puccini's La Bohème, and Britten's The Turn of the Screw, Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte and Don Giovanni. I also became a major proponent of the performance of orchestral works by the under-represented great American composer William Grant Still.
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Music Pedagogy and Degrees
A vital component of my professional life is my role as an educator. I have served as a professor of music in higher education, directing choirs and teaching a wide array of courses in music history and theory and in the humanities. My latest endeavors have taken me into an immersive study of Jewish cantorial technique and the history of Jewish sacred and popular music. My musical and pedagogical experience has led me, on frequent occasions, to serve as a guest lecturer and presenter on topics ranging from Verdi's Il Trovatore to the Alpujarran trovo.
I hold advanced degrees in conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and the University of Illinois, and a Bachelor in Arts in Music from Hamilton College, having studied under Elmer Thomas, Earl Rivers, Paul Vermel, Ian Hobson, Chester Alwes, and John Leman.
When not making music I can be found engaging in my passions for travel, learning foreign languages, and reading good science fiction.