Vocation and Family

I grew up on the West Coast in various cities of California and Oregon.  At age 7, I began taking piano lessons and continued through high school, eventually enrolling at California State University at Fullerton where my piano skills were challenged and refined.  During that time, I studied under the instruction of Rita Fuszek and Earle Voorhies and received the Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Music with a special emphasis in Piano Pedagogy and Accompanying.

After graduation, I accepted a staff position at a summer and ski camp outside Yosemite, met the woman who would become my wife and married the following year.  We both worked at the camp for a year and then decided that I would pursue a theological education in Dallas, Texas, at Dallas Theological Seminary.  Upon receiving my Masters degree in Theology from the seminary, I was ordained as a minister and served in church ministry as a pianist, music director, choir director, arranger and composer for the next 26 years.  In addition, I had the privilege of teaching piano to many of the children who were members of the church.

In more recent years, I had a desire to further my education in music and enrolled at Southern Methodist University.  During my studies there, I studied with Dr. Carol Leone, Head of the Piano Department, and graduated with a Masters degree in Music Education in 2005.  The past few years, I have been a full-time choral accompanist for several schools in the Irving ISD and have greatly enjoyed working with the talented choir directors there.  However, I am changing direction once again and have recently opened my piano studio to accept new students in the hopes of teaching full-time.  This is where my heart and passion lie.

My joy is seeing students:

• successfully play beautiful music at the piano;
• display enthusiasm for the music they are learning; and
• automatically apply concepts and skills learned to a new piece of music.

My wife and I have been married 30+ years and live in northwest Garland with our golden retriever, Mason.

Our two grown children and their spouses live in the Dallas area and are all accomplished musicians – violin, flute, cello, horn, clarinet, voice and piano.  Over the years, we have had wonderful times playing together and enjoying music as a family.  In 2009, we were blessed by the arrival of a beautiful granddaughter who is already showing signs of musicality (But then, I am a little biased!). You can watch her playing the piano at 7 months!