Bio

A little about myself...

I attended Florida State University on a music scholarship where I majored in Piano Performance.  While at FSU, I worked with the College of Motion Picture Arts where I composed scores for their award winning student films. I also accompanied for the School of Theater. After graduating from FSU, I studied at the Berklee College of Music where I studied Music Composition and Film Scoring.

Over the last 20+ years I’ve worked in several different areas, but it has always centered around music. I’ve been the Roth Family JCC of Greater Orlando’s primary piano teacher, I’ve done music clinics for young composers, I’ve been an adjudicator for the Florida Federation of Music Clubs’ annual festivals, and I've directed musicals around the community including those at the JCC and the Jewish Academy of Orlando.

But my primary work can be found within the classrooms at JAO where I’ve been the school’s music teacher since 2006.  I also direct two after-school music ensembles: Choirchimes and Chorus, whose performances have become a staple at holidays and community festivals. In addition, I've produced and directed several large scale theatrical productions at JAO, including an entirely green screen original movie, "Star Warts: The Umpire Strikes Back" which can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmp49EvwsW4&feature=youtu.be

I am very proud that music at the Jewish Academy doesn’t stay within the walls of the music room.  I work closely with the classroom teachers to put song into their learning.  Class presentations, even those about science or geography, are often presented in a theatrical way with music being a big part of the presentation. You can often find me sitting at the piano during these presentations, creating a musical underscore for the children. In a fascinating way, this one activity has allowed me to bring together all four areas of my expertise: Piano, composition, theater and education.

I am always looking for ways to deepen my understanding of music, and I’ve found the best way to do this is through world travel. Over the last several years I’ve traveled to over 40 countries. In many of these countries, I’ve taken private tours of composer homes, viewed original hand-written manuscripts of composers like Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin, and have even had the opportunity to play on some of their personal instruments. I enjoy sharing these experiences with my students.