When I was 17 my piano teacher gave me a book called, "The Essence of Music" by the great pianist Busoni. I was excited. Finally I was going to find an explanation of what music was all about. A new insight and deep understanding that would help me in my first attempts at writing my own music. But instead the book turned out to be a collection of -insightful- essays on various musical topics. No direct definitions or great philosophies.

So I was still stuck with wondering why when I went to a neighbor's house at age 9 I was deeply moved by one of the other children playing Handel's Sarabande variations on an upright piano. I could relive this experience over and over even though I didn't know the name of the composer or the title of the piece until years later. Why did I enjoy the Peer Gynt Suite by Grieg? - one of the only classical records in our house. Or the musical sound tracks to Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Why did I like to put these records on and listen to them many times? Certainly no one in my family played any musical instruments but I was always fascinated by all of them.

I started trying to explore music from the inside- by trying to create new music of my own to get a better understanding of it. First I worked with friends in high school on rock music with odd meters and outside harmonic progressions. Eventually I went to music school getting a BFA from CALARTs (1992) and a masters in composition from the Peabody Conservatory (1995). Along the way I had the opportunity to study piano and 'cello as well as electronic music and I created the pieces on this website.

So what is "The Essence of Music"? I can't describe it very well verbally but I believe most of us can feel it and understand a lot of it instinctively. And I also believe understanding of it deepens all the time aided by more composing and studying an instrument. Which is the reason why I continue to do both.

Questions I'm often asked:

Who did you study with? Mark McGurty and Ronald Caltabiano.

Who are your favorite composers? In no order- Ravel, Beethoven, Bach, Liszt, Brahms, Ligeti, Bach, Chopin, Debussy, Bartok, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovitch, Scriabin, Stan Getz, Jimmy Page, Robert Fripp, Brian Eno, and Kitaro.

Three artists I admire: Leonardo Da Vinci- excelling at everything he did. Dali and Van Gogh - for having minds that worked unlike any others and creating their own original universes with incredible skill.

Updated 11/15/01