He is a bassoonist, drummer and teacher who was born
in Oklahoma City and grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.He began singing when he was four
years old and then started playing the trumpet in his 5th grade,
which he quickly changed to bassoon.He also played the drums as his father was an amateur drummer and he
discovered rock music in the shape of The Beatles.He studied at the Lawrence
University Conservatory of Music and the Lamont School of Music at the
University of Denver.He has
appeared with several orchestras from states that include Wisconsin,
Oklahoma and Utah and as a chamber musician he has toured all over the
world with ensembles that include the Oklahoma Woodwind Quintet, Academia
Filarmonica and the North American Bassoon Quartet, which he co-founded.Very much involved in music
festivals he was the Principal Bassoon at Eisenhadt, Austria's Classical
Music Fesitval for 17 years and gave solo performances with the Festival
Orchestra three times and has been a teacher at the Red Lodge Music
Festival since 1980. In the
world of popular music he became the drummer for the rock band MidLife
Crysis in 1990 and also produces concerts for Tribute, who are a tribute
band to The Beatles.Appearing
on several recordings he has featured on A Christmas Delight with
the Oklahoma Woodwind Quintet, Moosmann Live and Moosmann Artists
Sampler Disc.He is currently a member of the
Double Reed Society and is the Principal Bassoon for the Oklahoma City
Philharmonic Orchestra.As a teacher
he has been the clinician at many state musical education conferences,
given international master classes and from 1981 he has been the Associate
Professor of Bassoon at the University of Oklahoma and also takes courses
in popular musical culture including "The Beatles...Four Lads Who Shook the
World."
Oklahoma Woodwind Quintet recordings
Angels We Have Heard on High (Traditional French/James Chadwick/Edward Barnes)
