CURRENT MISSION

to learn, share, create, help, explore, and grow.

ABOUT ME

I love traveling, exploring, growing as a person, and learning new things. I recently married my best friend, Diane, and we both are excited to travel and explore the world together, especially while we are still young. I am a pretty shy and reserved person at first, but once I get to know someone better, they find that I am very goofy and really enjoy myself. I do not drink alcohol nor do I smoke anything and dislike being around people who don't do so courteously. I am a strict vegan as well, but I am willing to eat a little bit of animal foods in the name of cultural experience while abroad.

In 2013, I'm spending most of the year in Brazil on a Fulbright scholarship doing research on Brazil's music education programs that are inspired by Venezuela's "El Sistema" which provides free music education for impoverished children.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe that people are good by nature, that there is beauty in everything, that every experience is a chance to learn, that values need to constantly be challenged, evaluated, and revised, that we must all do what we can to help our fellow beings.

Interests

Music, Photography, Truth, Social Justice, Education, Travel, Languages, Science, Learning, Problem Solving, Nutrition, Environmentalism,

• animals
• photography
• beauty
• education
• vegan
• drinking
• traveling
• music
• classical music
• teaching
• history
• languages
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: I really enjoy documentaries and movies that make my think. My favorite movies are "Gandhi" and "Lawrence of Arabia"

Books: I mostly read non-fiction books, mostly about music and music theory. Just finished Gandhi's autobiography and now reading Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States."

Music: I love exploring lots of different kinds of music, but particularly contemporary classical music. Some favorites, in all genres, are Charles Ives, The Beatles, Jim Croce, Gustav Mahler, The Bad Plus, John Foulds, Led Zeppelin, Camargo Guarnieri, Simon and Garfunkel, Frederic Rzewski, Gerald Finzi, and Joni Mitchell.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I think it is amazing that, on a couple of occasions, I have spent months composing a piece of music and fine tuning all the thousands of notes and instructions from what I imagine in my head, then finally having the satisfaction of hearing it realized and performed by large group of musicians. I wish everyone could experience something like this in their life.

Teach, Learn, Share

I know a lot about music, composing, playing it, the theory behind it, and the history of classical music which I'd love to share.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Nicaragua, Peru, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Brazil, Italy, United States