About
About Me
I have been a professional musician and teacher for over 30 years. I earned B.M. & M.M. degrees from the University of Houston, where I had the distinct privilege of studying piano & composition with the Pulitzer prize winning opera composer and former concert pianist, Carlisle Floyd. His musical understanding overflowed, and his knowledge of piano technique was a blessing.
As a teacher, I have been teaching piano privately since 1993 and am a member of Cypress Creek Music Teachers Association (CCMTA), Texas Music Teachers Association and the Music Teachers National Association. With CCMTA I have been active in many ways, including managing our website and Facebook pages, serving as President (2022-2024) and directing our High School Convention Ensemble. Additionally, I regularly judge for the events of other organizations such as Northwest Houston Music Teachers Association, National Federation of Music Clubs Gold Cup and Katy Music Teachers Association. Currently I teach piano both in my home studio and at Cy-Fair Music and Arts.
Seven years ago I began developing an innovative piano method especially designed for young students. I have been using and refining it over the past 6 years with much success. You can learn more about my method here.
As a collaborative pianist, I have been working since graduate school with vocalists & instrumentalists in concerts, recitals, and opera & theater productions. I have collaborated with Houston Ballet Academy, Opera to Go!, Orchestra X, Opera Rediviva (now Opera in the Heights), San Jacinto College, HITS Theatre School, Lone Star College and with various individual musicians and groups. As music director for HITS I also taught music to students, arranged abbreviated musicals for keyboards and drums, played for class shows & fundraisers, and prepared the chorus and orchestra for full scale musical productions at Miller Outdoor Theater. At Lone Star College North Harris, I played for the Jazz Choir, for students & faculty in recital and for many musical productions. I also taught music theory & ear training, developing an approach that enabled students to better connect theory with their own musical experiences and to better use it in their own musical endeavors. In addition, I served as music director for the theater department’s 2013 production of Godspell. Currently, I am staff accompanist for Lone Star College University Park and Cy-Fair High School.
In 2007 I began to pursue what had become a growing interest in Jazz. Over the next few years I had the privilege of studying with noted Houston jazz pianists Joe LoCascio, Paul English and Bob Henschen. I have played with many people around the Houston area including the Houstonian Big Band, The Dirty Jazz Players, Ermelinda Cuellar, Richard Cholakian, Thomas Helton, Woody Witt and the late Sebastian “Bash” Whittaker.
Currently, I teach privately and perform in various capacities. For more performances go to the Music.
About My Teaching
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music….” (Psalm 98:4)
I believe the fundamental aim of all music is joy. If it’s not actually joyful, then it’s helping us in our sorrow, leading us through our feelings, so we can be joyful again. I do my best to keep this in mind in my teaching. The challenge is that music is not an easy thing to do.
Learning piano (or anything!) is like growing a tree. From a seed grows the root, the stem and the branches, and throughout its life, the fruits of its growing will depend on the health of all three. The larger and longer lasting the tree, the slower is this process. Like such trees, the growth of anything that can last requires patience and an integrity in the process. I seek to help each student’s “musical tree” grow in this way. Attending to all parts with patience and love, their “tree” can become strong, stable and fruitful, and able to continue growing long after they’ve left the nurturing environment of lessons.
As there are many types of trees, there are many types of students. Some are at heart competitors, others are creators, improvisors, explorers, enjoyers or some combination. My musical friends all have different inclinations. Yet, whatever form it may take, whatever musical path they find most interesting, every one of them is driven by a joy in music. To paraphrase Emily Dickinson, if I can help one student’s joy to grow, “I shall not live in vain.”
But no one can grow on ideals alone! So in addition to aspiring to high ideals, I get down in the dirt, so to speak, and deal with the practicalities. Nothing zaps the fun out of something for a kid more than struggle. Piano is full of challenges that, if not made manageable, become chronic struggles. Usually when struggle becomes chronic, so do lack of joy and lack of motivation. I’ve devoted a lot of time to learning the challenges piano poses to students and ways to manage them effectively, and seek to provide students practical guidance, that their musical roots, stems and branches might grow strong together and produce wonderful, healthy fruits.
About My Music
My musical activities include performing and creating music—both through composing and improvising. Below are videos and audio recordings of some of my performances, compositions and improvisations.