As a professor of music at a music school, one topic that is near to my heart is the question of whether the study of music is a viable choice for young people entering college. When I was a student entering music school as a composition major, I had a wonderful introduction to the subject by Dr. Nelson Keyes,… Read more →

I first realized that I had been a serial monogamist all my life while having a discussion with my wife early in our marriage. While we were dating, I was a jazz pianist who doubled on electric bass for fun and to make money, but it was clear that piano was the true musical passion and “soul mate” in my… Read more →

In every young musician’s development, there are giants in the landscape, central figures whose polar influence helps transform a soft lump of unrealized possibility into a stronger and more viable form that can move forward with focus, discipline, and a sense of purpose. Some of these giants forge this transformation with force of personality, some with fear of disapproval, some with a… Read more →

“Those roles which, being neither those of hero nor Heroine, Confidante nor Villain, but which were none the less essential to bring about the Recognition or the denouement of the story were called the Fifth Business in drama and Opera companies organized according to the old style; the player who acted these parts was often referred to as Fifth Business.”… Read more →

Our current culture seems to insist that we can be more productive – and, it implies, happier –  if only we buy the right machines and use them to stay connected to the rest of the world instantaneously. Those who do not are labeled as hopelessly out of touch and out of date.  The marketing geniuses who for years have… Read more →

My relationship with Harry is an interesting one, as he started out as a musical idol and guru, morphed into a musical confidant and part-time spiritual advisor, and in later years has ended up as peer and friend (although I use the term “peer” generously for my part in this instance). Regardless of which “stage” is under discussion, Harry has… Read more →

This is a question I’ve been pondering my entire life. I even went to the trouble to get two degrees in the subject in an effort to answer this question, and I still go back and forth on the answer. There are times when it seems that I just couldn’t get along without theory, and times in which it only… Read more →

What’s this? An informal bio in the first person? Isn’t that sacrilege? I hope not. There’s nothing really wrong with formal third person bios in principle, but in practice they reduce a person’s professional life to a self-serving blurb for the purpose of establishing professional credibility in a paragraph or less. Again, that’s fine, and useful in its own way,… Read more →

Why do I play music? The simple answer is that for me, the act of playing music provides me with an environment in which I no longer have to wonder “why am I here?” , or “what is the meaning of life on this planet?”. When I’m playing (or perhaps this should be amended to say, when I’m playing in… Read more →