Saxophonist, composer, educator, and clinician
Released first solo CD, First Offerings, in November 2004 and second solo album, Time Travelers, in November 2020
Performed in many of Boston’s venues, including the Boston Globe Jazz Festival, Portsmouth Jazz Festival, the Regattabar, Scullers, Ryles, Beantown Jazz Festival, and Wally’s Café
Performances with Louie Bellson, Terri Lyne Carrington, Steve Grossman, Jamey Haddad, Tim Hagans, John Hollenbeck, Dave Liebman, Bob Moses, Danilo Perez, Kenny Wheeler, and James Williams
Former faculty member at the New England Conservatory Extension Division and the former director of jazz studies at Truman State University; clinician at numerous colleges and universities throughout the United States, Europe, Central and South America, and Asia

Education

School Name

The New England Conservatory of Music

State or Province

Massachusetts

Degree

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)

Field of Study

Jazz Composition

Date Degree Received

2001
School Name

Eastman School of Music

Degree

Master of Music (MM)

Field of Study

Jazz Studies

Date Degree Received

1989
School Name

Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus

State or Province

Pennsylvania

Degree

Bachelor of Science (BS)

Field of Study

Music Education

Date Degree Received

1986

In Their Own Words

"Developing one's ear is an essential skill for all music students, whether they aspire to become performers, educators, or recording engineers. It is also a lifelong endeavor and one that I continue to work on as I strive to add new sounds to my aural vocabulary."

"I like to bring a lot of supplemental material into the ear training classroom. I feel responsible for exposing the students' ears to great music that they may not have heard before and for educating them to become better critical listeners. It's not uncommon for the class to learn a North Indian raga or to dissect the harmonies of a piece by Stravinsky or Ellington."

"I feel very privileged to be able to be involved in the making of music, one of God's finest gifts to us, and to be able to teach at such a special place as Berklee. Having a class comprised of talented students who represent places from all over the world creates a certain type of buzz in the classroom. It's a feeling that I had not previously experienced until I came to teach here."