Music has always been part of my life. I used to sing in trios and quartets with my brother and sisters, and took piano, violin, and French horn lessons from a young age. I sang in my high school ensembles and began singing solos from time to time.
I began teaching voice lessons when I was in college. My last year at Walla Walla College (now Walla Walla University), I was hired by the Music Department as an instructor for non-majors. I graduated from WWC in 1980 with a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance. While there, I won the Voice Division in the Spokane Music Festival, and subsequently sang with the Spokane Symphony. I also performed as a baritone soloist with the Walla Walla Symphony. I was principal violist with the Walla Walla College String Orchestra and violist with the Walla Walla String Quartet.
From there, I went to Kansas City, where I became a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Missouri at Kansas City Conservatory of Music. I received my Master of Music degree from UMKC in Voice Performance in 1984. While in Kansas City, I sang with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Starlight Theater of Kansas City, and Opera Theater of St. Louis, singing small parts and chorus. I sang many leads in UMKC opera and music theater productions, as well as professional section leader at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral. I also worked as a singing waiter. There were many competitions, with lots of second place finishes and some wins, including the Oklahoma Symphony Young Artist Competition which led to two appearances with the Oklahoma Symphony and summer stock with Lyric Theater of Oklahoma.
In 1984 and 1985, I studied in New York, including performance classes with Joan Dorneman backstage at the Metropolitan Opera. I spent the fall of 1985 touring with Texas Opera Theater, the touring arm of Houston Grand Opera. I was Dancairo in Carmen, with performances all over Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. As a member of the Resident Troupe, I sang opera reviews, music theater reviews, a puppet show (I was Snodgrass the Snake in "Singing in the Rain Forest"), and two one-act operas (Dr. Sigmund Frog in "Chicken Little" and The Husband in "Leo").
In the summer of 1985, just before the TOT tour, Sheila and I moved to the Tri-Cities. The performer’s life had begun to wear on me, with the constant travel and separation from family. When our son Chance was born in 1986, I became an at-home dad, which was quite a novelty in those days. I began getting involved in the music and theater life of the area, appearing with the Mid-Columbia Symphony, the Walla Walla Symphony, and the Oregon East Symphony. I began conducting again, something I had not done since college. I was first the conductor of Columbia Chorale, then became the director of Consort Columbia and the Music Director and Composer-in-Residence at Shalom UCC. With Elaine Scherperel-Burgess and Cathleen Dunn, we founded Washington East Opera, which also led to founding the Consort Columbia Children’s Chorus, which later became the Three Rivers Children’s Chorus. Somewhere in there, I was also very involved in efforts to build a real performing arts center, something we increasingly need. I also began teaching private voice lessons, and have had several students go on to successful careers in music, from teaching to performing locally and all over the world.
Composing began to take a larger role in the late 90’s, and now I have a limited voice student roster, remain Music Director and Composer-in-Residence at Shalom, and sing with Male Ensemble Northwest, presenting workshops and concerts around the Northwest and in Canada. I also spend quite a bit of time judging choirs and soloists and competitions and festivals.
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