Here’s a little clip from the Advanced Composers Ensemble which meets Monday nights at Second Story Studios, featuring a tune by Ian McCarty called “Doing the Same Thing”. We will be performing a free show on June 1st at Good Neighbor Pizzeria!
We are auditioning horn players!
This summer I will be trying out a new branch of the MCC, the Youth Composition Collective. It’s been a while since I’ve worked with kids, and I’m ready to return to the endeavor with new inspiration:
***Composing as a method of learning***
For most of my life, I really struggled with teaching music to kids because it always felt like I was a cog in a machine. Honestly I was never inspired by the piano enough to push through those feelings. HOWEVER, when I started to work with young adults and adults as a composition/songwriting coach, I found that I was extremely passionate about “creating/songwriting/composing as a form of learning”. Now that I’ve spent 10+ years working on this approach, I’m ready to offer it to kids. My hope is that I can support people in maintaining a through line of creative connection from their teens into adulthood, without the all-too-usual phenomenon of being crushed by the system and giving up on music. If you’re curious about what I’m referring to here, please DM or comment!
Feeling extra inspired today after going to Seattle last night to see some of my musical heroes perform.
Practicing w a slow backbeat, the second movement of a tune I’m calling “Letting Go of Disappointment”.
Working on another tune in collaboration with Chris Poulakidas over @anjunarecording .
Big thanks to Slater & Franky for engineering a great session, and to Micah Hummel & Andrew Jones for playing their butts off as usual. ❤️
#isc2025semifinalist
Just found out that my tune, “The Self Holds” is a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition.
Big thanks to the following friends who contributed their talents to record it with me ❤️
Justin Copeland - trumpet
Chris Shuttleworth - trombone
Andrew Jones - bass, engineering, mixing
Micah Hummel - drums
Paris Butler - assistant engineering
Dana White - mastering
This phrase has become a mantra of mine when considering flow state: You are made of music.
Writing, recording & performing (“creating”) original music is my passion. This passion has grown to include the role of teaching & facilitating as well.
If you’d like to book some time with me, please visit my online scheduler (link in bio).
Original photo was generously captured by @reedricker .
This is a painting by my friend Jeanine Semon, called “Unity Tree”. Meditating on it musically has been medicine for me over the past month. I composed a piece of music with the same name that I’ll be performing with Andrew Jones & Matt Mayhall on February 11. Here’s a bit of the rehearsal from this morning.
I’m excited to play at the 1905 again in February with my trio plus a special guest. This time around I will have Andrew Jones (bass) & Matt Mayhall (drums) playing with me, and I’m psyched to have Noah Bernstein joining us on alto sax for a few tunes.
