Meet Our Amazing AHS & AMS Music Teachers

What led you to become a music teacher?

My mother was a career music educator (elementary music) and church organist (and who is still playing worship services and choir rehearsals at age 82!) and I like to say that she "programmed" me to be a musician. It was always a part of my life from taking piano lessons at age 5 to singing in a touring boys choir for 5 years (I've sung in almost all of the states this side of the Mississippi and turned 13 on a 5-week tour of Japan) to participating in bands, choruses, orchestras, and acting on stage throughout my middle and high school years.

What is your favorite aspect of teaching?

Seeing the students start as freshmen and watching them grow into seniors. Most teachers only get to see/know their students for one year. I am lucky in that I see them start as children and mature into adults.

What is your process for choosing the selections the band will play at concerts?

This is a very long and arduous process. It takes me considerable time to find the right selections that match the current playing level of the students without being too easy to too challenging. I also think about how the flow of pieces within a particular concert. I also have some genres/composers that I like to rotate to give students the opportunity to know some of the "classics" of the wind band literature.

What instrument(s) do you play and/or what voice part(s) do you sing?

My main instrument is tuba. I had 10 years of piano lessons through early high school. I sang bass in my high school's chorus and at the district and regional level in Pennsylvania. I am very familiar and very comfortable with all of the percussion instruments (I had an unofficial "minor" in percussion at the Hartt School as an undergrad). I also acted in community theatre and in middle and high school shows (both musicals and dramas).

What is your favorite piece of music?

Far, far too many excellent choices to just list one. Some I enjoy listening; some playing (tuba); and some conducting.

What genre(s) of music do you like to listen to?

Wind Band music, Orchestral music, and small "c" classical piano music. But I grew up listening to classic, hard rock/heavy metal, and jazz.

Who are your musical influences?

My musical influences came more from my music teachers rather than composers or artists. I credit my high school choral teacher (Ed Milisits) and my high school piano/voice teacher (Judy Herring) for providing me the foundation to succeed in music and for serving as models for teaching. Stanley DeRusha (Hartt School) was one of the most musical conductors I've ever worked under, and Glen Adist (Hartt School) and David Martins (BU) were my conducting teachers/mentors.

Do you have a special memory of playing in a band and/or singing in a choir in school?

The night I turned 13, I was in Osaka, Japan with the Singing Boys of Pennsylvania. We usually opened our concert with Schubert's Ave Maria. I was one of the "back up" soloists in case one of the primary soloists was unable to perform. On stage in one of the largest concert halls in Japan, the director said "It's your birthday, you can have the solo tonight." I think that's that last time I was actually nervous on stage.

Do you perform side gigs?

Not currently. Prior to COVID, I performed regularly with the Metropolitan Wind Ensemble for about 10 years. I've also subbed in with the Concord Band, Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, InterBoro Band, and Charles River Wind Ensemble. However, none of these were "paid" services.

Anything else about you that you would like people to know?

I live in Westborough with my wife, Masha, our 2 children (Thom and Cate) and our 3 cats (Floki, Thora, and Laila). I grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania (where Lafayette College is next to Allentown and Bethlehem), where my parents still reside.

What led you to become a music teacher?

I started working as a music and drama counselor at a camp that served children and adults with disabilities when I was seventeen. I continued teaching music and drama each summer through college. I found myself pining for summer camp each year until the executive director of one of the camps I worked at, who later became my mentor, encouraged me to become a music teacher.

What is your favorite aspect of teaching?

I love connecting with students and nurturing and refining their natural music skills. I also love creating a space where students feel welcome and safe.

What is your process for choosing the selections the choir will sing at concerts?

The winter concert celebrates holidays in December. I often work collaboratively with students to choose a theme for the spring concert. I try to balance light themes with ones that are socially conscious. For example, last year we did a Broadway musical

themed concert. This year student's voted to elevate LGBTQ+ voices in our spring concert.

What voice part(s) do you sing and/or what instrument(s) do you play?

I am a mezzo soprano and I play the piano.

What is your favorite piece of music?

My favorite piece of music is The Moldau from Má vlast by Smetana. It's a beautiful piece of program music. The listener can hear the little streams joining into a big river in the composer's homeland where it passes by a hunt, a peasant's wedding, and a great cathedral.

What genre(s) of music and/or artists do you like to listen to?

I adore Broadway musicals like Into the Woods, Hadestown, Dear Evan Hanson, etc. I also love Adele, Lizzo, Jelly Roll, Samara Joy, and Sugarland.

Who are your musical influences?

Sondheim, Alan Menken, Sara Bareilles, Ella Fitzgerald

Do you have a special memory of singing in a choir in school?

I loved performing at competitions and Solo & Ensemble. I adored performing in the All-State Chorus. At a show choir festival, I had a solo in the all-girl number "I'm a Woman" from Smokey Joe's Cafe. Before I was even done with the solo, people were on their feet cheering. It felt amazing!

Do you perform side gigs?

I perform in a handbell choir.

Anything else about you that you would like people to know?

I have taught in three states and one country outside of the U.S.

What led you to become a music teacher?

My high school band teacher, Mr. Leonard, made class so fun and interesting and loved his job so much that it seemed like a great career.

What is your favorite aspect of teaching?

My favorite aspects of the job are teaching lessons and rehearsals, hearing students improve, and seeing students grow to love music.

What is your process for choosing the selections the band will play at concerts?

Each band has its own unique strengths and weaknesses. I try to pick pieces that will showcase a band's strengths but also push them to improve. Also, I look for pieces that students will enjoy practicing and audiences will enjoy listening to.

What instrument(s) do you play?

Trumpet.

What is your favorite piece of music?

I can't really say, it changes all the time. Lately I have been enjoying listening to Louis Cole's newest album. I really like his drumming but also his compositions are great and he arranged them for full orchestra just for the album.

What genre(s) of music do you like to listen to?

I like Jazz, Funk, Classical, Pop, and Country.

Who are your musical influences?

Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Terence Blanchard, and Wallace Roney.

Do you have a special memory of playing in a band in school?

When I was in high school, our jazz combo was hired to play at the opening of the new post office in town. I felt like a pro to be asked to perform somewhere other than at school.

Do you perform side gigs?

Yes, I perform in the following groups in the Worcester area: Jazz Depot, Worcester Jazz Collective, Electric Shine, Funkenstein, Local Variety Music Show, Golden Ticket, Carlos Davis Dixieland Band, and Reagle Music theater in Waltham, and also play with the InterBoro Community Band and the JCC reading band. Usually not all on the same week.

Anything else about you that you would like people to know?

Playing music with your friends is a privilege, thanks to parents for providing their children instruments and lessons, and thanks to schools for providing the opportunity for children to experience the joy of playing music together.

What voice part(s) do you sing and/or what instrument(s) do you play?

I am a mezzo-soprano, but when I was in elementary and middle school I also played violin through my school's Suzuki program!

What artists do you like to listen to?

I'm currently listening to a lot of Renee Rapp, Chappell Roan, and Noah Kahan, but I'm also a big fan of Carol King, James Taylor, and Norah Jones.

Do you have a special memory of singing in a choir in school?

So many! I was the epitome of a choir kid in school. One of my favorite memories of being in my school's music program was being in a select A Capella group! We would do gigs throughout Greater Boston and even venture out to New York City in the winter to go caroling!

Do you perform side gigs?

I don't perform, but I frequent open mics at Blackstone Valley Music in Uxbridge.