“Hymn of Thanks” was the result of my study of Bach Chorales. One of my best experiences in college was doing an “independent study” course with Dariusz Terefenko that was focused on improvising fugues and other Bach-ian styles. As part of the...
I wrote “The Inevitable Letdown” in New York City in 2009. I had two things on my mind: The stock market crash that led to the 2009 recession: As reports came out regarding the short-sighted greed of the financial industry, it reminded me of the same ravenous...
There was a very nice review of my book, “First Lessons in Piano Improv” in the February/March issue of “American Music Teacher” magazine! The reviewer writes that “the book provides teachers with thoughtful lesson plans for students or give the older student clear...
“Kneel” is a song inspired by Caribbean poet Derek Walcott’s autobiography, Another Life. In one passage, Walcott describes having a pseudo-religious experience – he takes in the colorful richness of his island of St. Lucia and is moved by its beauty, but in the same...
“What is that Feeling” takes its title from a passage by Jack Kerouac in On the Road. On the Road is one of those books that it seems every teenager or college student has a passionate infatuation with, and I was determined to be “cooler than” liking it myself, but –...
