Looking back, can’t believe I’ve been busy playing, learning, practicing, and being a nerd pretty much since I could walk. At a glance:

Music

• Started piano at age 5, then violin & cello, horn at 12. I fell in love with ensemble musicianship while playing in Vero Beach High School Band.
• I marched with Phantom Regiment in 2002, learning about precision, teamwork, grit, and much more.
• From 2004-2006 I studied music and audio engineering at Indiana University. It only took me two years before I won a full time orchestra job at Macao Orchestra
• From 2008-2014 I played in the Hong Kong Philharmonic
• I left Hong Kong and began freelancing all over the world including tours and recording with San Francisco Symphony, playing principal horn in Palm Beach Symphony & Florida Grand Opera, and even subbing with Philadelphia Orchestra.
• More important to me than any of that though, is my decommodified musicianship - the artist in me who makes art purely for its own sake.
• Some of my happiest musical moments outside the concert hall, have been playing with DJ’s, in sound healing jams, at festivals like Burning Man, with grammy-winning singer/songwriters, and more!

Science

• I started programming at age 8, coding artificial intelligence chat bots and nuclear bomb simulators for high school science fair!
• From 2000-2004 I was at Northwestern U, completing a B.A. in Cognitive Science and a minor in Computer Science.
• My scientific focus is on human learning, especially language learning. Music is a language. Think about it…
• From 2017-2021 I worked on a deliberate practice app called Modacity, which I eventually sold

Language

• I learned some Spanish growing up and Mandarin Chinese at Northwestern.
• Learning Chinese was super hard. Mostly because of how it was taught. Now I know better 🙂
• My focus in Cognitive Science was linguistics. I think a lot about syntax, semantics, language acquisition, and how they relate to music and other skills.

Martial Arts/Movement Arts

• Alexander Technique started changing my life in 2002, and I have studied it on and off since then.
• I started practicing yoga in 2004 and noticed that my thoughts were profoundly different after an hour of yoga. I’ve studied yoga in America, India, Hong Kong, and Europe.
• Cognition is embodied, meaning our entire bodies are responsible for how we think, feel, and act. For a truly quality life you must practice quality movement (and quality stillness).
• Experiencing serious chronic body pain from tension and mis-alignment, I invested tens of thousands of dollars and hours into yoga, chiropractic, Pilates, physiotherapy, massage, and other body wellness activities.
• In Hong Kong, I trained Wing Chun Kung Fu under grandmaster Chu Shong Tin at what is now Mindful Wing Chun.
• I incorporate concepts from Alexander Technique, yoga, and Wing Chun into my performance, teaching, and entire life.

Spirituality/Ancient Wisdom Traditions

• While studying Kung Fu I directly experienced things that science and Western medicine couldn’t explain. I became aware of Qi, which lead me to Qi Gong, which lead me to the world of Daoism.
• My sister is a certified Kundalini Yoga Instructor, has a masters in sound healing, and trained 2 years in African Shamanism. Her experiences and perspectives have offered valuable balance to my more traditional, scientific, and archetypically masculine ways of understanding and being.
• I am a RYT200 certified Yoga Teacher & Reiki healer
• My entire world view and daily life have been profoundly improved by ongoing personal experience with meditation, shamanic journeywork, and other “spiritual” practices.
• There is much to learn from the global assortment of ancient  traditions. The overlaps are amazing; the practices are life changing. If you don’t meditate, it’s time to start today with just one breath.

Holistic Wellness

• How do you feel right now? How is your body? How are your emotions? How well are your finances? Your career? Relationships?
• Are you satisfied with life, moving forward every day with clear, authentic purpose?
• Holistic Wellness is my number one life priority. It means balance, love, authenticity, and true self-actualization (not self-image actualization!)
• I care about your holistic wellness too. We’re all connected.
• If there’s a part of your life that I can help you restore, reform, or awesome-ify, I would love to help. That, ultimately, is my work in the world.