I was born in Ventura, California, USA in 1950 and began piano study at the age of four. I grew up in a musically diverse home where my older brother, an accomplished pianist and clarinetist, was a primary influence. Through access to his extensive record collection, I developed an early interest in a wide range of music including classical, blues, jazz, and big band. In the 60’s, rock and folk music were added to the mix, setting the stage for a later career in which the cross-cultural and polystylistic musical tendencies of postmodernism would emerge.
In 1968, I received a music scholarship to study piano performance at University of the Pacific Conservatory. Here, I began to investigate medieval and renaissance music, the harpsichord, music of other cultures, and various forms of improvisation. Here, also, my German piano instructor demanded that I stop wasting my time improvising and playing jazz, and “Get back to Brahms!” This was not to be.
Finally realizing that I was not destined to become the next Horowitz, and being unable to reconcile my compelling interest in music outside of the classical mainstream with the required course of study, I left the university and the world of piano recitals in 1971. I traveled extensively in the United States, Canada, and Europe, including pilgrimages to Salzburg, Bonn, and Vienna, the birthplaces of Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. Returning to California in 1973, I began performing and conducting early music in the San Francisco bay area. From 1975 to 1981 I owned and operated The Harpsichord Workshop of San Francisco, a center devoted to the building and maintenance of early keyboard instruments. During this time I also studied jazz piano, and began composing in a style which reflected my various musical influences.
In 1982, I left California for New England where, in addition to composing for piano, organ, chamber groups and orchestra, I collaborate with my wife, Margaret, a poet, on vocal and choral works. Together we have written THE FOUR ARTISTS– for vocal soloists, piano, and chorus: a look at the relationship between artists and society, THE AGE OF EXPLORATION– for soprano, cello, and harpsichord, which examines the roles of women in the renaissance and today, and IMAGES 1939/1993– for contralto, chorus, piano, and string orchestra, which explores modern genocide in Europe.
We live in Mystic, Connecticut, USA, where I continue to compose, improvise, teach, and perform. I have four CDs of solo piano music. We have a son, Benjamin, 27, who lives in Montreal.