I am a composer. My music is influenced by my many musical experiences throughout my life. The biggest impact on my approach to music has come from my many years studying classical percussion and playing with the chamber group Smoke & Mirrors Ensemble, which I formed with my fellow grad student percussionists while I was at The Colburn Conservatory (we don’t play together anymore). Next most significant, is my return to an active practice of the Catholic faith following my time at Colburn and the 19 months I spent as a postulant and novice at the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Chicago. As a Benedictine monastery in a contemplative congregation, we chanted our divine office in English and chanted the propers from the Graduale Romanum each morning at Mass (Ordinary form in Latin). This time learning to use my voice for monophonic melodies was instrumental in helping me intuit the tendencies of melodic pitches.

Also significant is my Catholic marriage (which is a shared spiritual endeavor). As a Catholic, I think of my marriage as my primary vocation, while my art is a secondary vocation. That is, in my personal hierarchy of priorities, I prioritize serving my family (right now it’s just my wife and me) above any other goal/pursuit. That said, my wife says I’m more goal-oriented than most people she meets.

Since my music flows out of my life, you might find it helpful to consider my motivations for writing, in general. As a musician, I truly love teaching, and I think of my writing as an extension of the musical instruction I can offer people. I write each piece with a particular audience or personal growth concept in mind. For example, some pieces are written for students and target technical skills that will help the students grow as musicians and people. Whereas, Where’er the Whale-fish Blows was written with a panel of composers in mind, since it was written for a composition competition. There are different emphases depending on who is my primary audience for each piece. It’s pretty critical to read my program notes and anything else I put out about each piece in order to grasp the heart of each piece. (This has been a criticism I’ve received about my music, but I think there’s no way around the necessity of doing some reading/score study in order to share in the experiences I write into my pieces).