My musical experience and field of interest cover a broad range, so bear with me while I give the briefest possible overview of the last 54 years…
My piano studies began at age 4, continuing to my undergrad, with me winning numerous regional and provincial festivals and twice competing in the national finals along the way.
Synthesizer programming and electronic music production entered my life at age 13 and continue to this day.
In the early 1980s, I began working in rock and pop circles and expanding into writing music for theater and TV.
Performing with rock bands from 1986 to 2008 had me regularly touring throughout North and South America as well as western Europe.
I was a faculty accompanist and vocal coach in both Sheridan College and Randolph Academy musical theatre programs for 23 years.
There is a long list of theatre credits on my résumé spanning the last 31 years as either Keyboardist or Musical Director, however I’m probably best known as an Audition Pianist.
Being a professional audition pianist means that you play whatever is put in front of you with no rehearsal or preparation while accompanying the singer in question. Doing this job effectively requires the very highest level of sight-reading, theory and listening skills.
Given how much I enjoy challenges, most of my focus has been on audition work.
I’ve been the Audition Pianist for the Stratford Festival since 2004, as well as having played auditions for all major companies across Canada, including Shaw, Mirvish, Disney, Can Stage, Musical Stage Co., Neptune, etc. etc.
Back in the 1980s and early 90s, I had up to 32 weekly piano students, but then started travelling too much to continue.
Having recently decided to settle in Stratford and stay ‘more local’, I’m looking to resume teaching.
I have a special love for it which is expressed through my approaching every person differently according to their needs and wants.
I do not follow a fixed program, so although we all need to learn basics like scales, harmony, etc., I am not the best choice for those wishing to follow structured Conservatory, classical-only programs.
I put equal emphasis on playing by ear and reading sheet music, as one needs both for optimum enjoyment and versatility.
Although I performed Liszt and Chopin etudes in university, I am only interested in teaching beginning students because I find that that is where I can make the most difference.
My advice is to combine pop and classical approaches from Day 1. Similar to how learning by ear complements reading off the page, one genre enriches the study of the other.
Overall, my plan is to give you a solid understanding of the nuts and bolts of music, not just playing piano. From there, you can choose where and how far you want to go with it.
One exciting option would be to write music. I have recorded and published a large number of compositions and I would be happy to guide you in that adventure!
Here is me performing one of a set of 33 arrangements I wrote of Genesis songs from the 1970s. I published them in two books of sheet music which have sold over a thousand copies. This video illustrates the fusion of various techniques: impressionist and romantic classical, funk and pop. There are plenty more videos of me playing my compositions and arrangements on that channel: