Things have started to lighten up ever so slightly after a non-stop summer/fall of writing and teaching. Marching band writing season started up in May. Then for nearly 5 months, I lived in the depths of Sibelius, Virtual Drumline, Logic, and MainSt...

In my tenure as the Percussion Director at Beavercreek HS, one of the yearly marching band traditions we had was to develop an arrangement of a 'pit tune' for the season. I say develop, because I didn't always write out an arrangement...

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the 2026 OMEA Conference, where the Licking Heights Middle School Wind Ensemble percussionists premiered my new piece, Echoes of the Red Planet. It was commissioned by percussion director, Shane Mathews,...

Phew–What a year! As soon as one project wrapped, the next one was already underway. From writing to teaching to gigging, the pace has been nonstop. Below are some highlights from the past year, plus a sneak peek at what's coming in 2026. 2025 ...

What an honor! My first Concert Band piece, REMEDY, was selected as the winner of the 2025 Silver Melted Into Sound Composition Contest. Held annually by Wright State University, Silver Melted Into Sound is a festival celebrating the unique voices a...

Daredevil's Diary was commissioned by Andrew Richardson and the University of Oklahoma Percussion Studio. I completed the piece on January 1st, 2024 and it was subsequently performed by several members of the OU studio throughout the year. Making th...

Traveling brings inspiration. Last month, my wife and I visited Olympic National Park in northwest Washington. The nature in this park is quite diverse and includes forests, lakes, glacier-capped mountains, rainforests, and beaches. We had already c...

New Releases With the school year beginning and percussion ensemble rehearsals starting up again, it's a great time to explore the new music that's made it way out there over these past few months. I'm excited to share two pieces of mine that have r...

The day that a composer reaches the double bar line at the end of a piece is often equated to the day that said piece of music is declared "done."I started off 2024 with three double bar lines, which is to say that three projects I had spent the fall...

It has been quite an eventful past couple of weeks. One moment I’m camping in the desert with no cell service where the nearest camp neighbor is 300 yards away, and the next moment I’m in a crammed conference ballroom listening to some amazing percu...

This summer has been full of writing, teaching, traveling, and visiting with family and good friends. Living “on the road” gave me the opportunity to teach 4 weeks of band camps this year, as well as to pop in to visit the schools that I wrote for t...

Last summer, I was contacted by Chris Carmean, who is the Percussion Director at Pickerington North High School. The Pickerington North Percussion Ensemble would be preparing repertoire to perform at their upcoming 20th Anniversary Concert in Februa...

Earlier this month, I was honored to receive the Howard L. Post Excellence in Education Award through the Greene County Educational Service Center in Yellow Springs, Ohio. I was selected to receive this award by my former student, Lexi, Co-Salutatori...

Last fall, my former student was finalizing repertoire for her senior recital at the University of North Texas when she contacted me to ask if I would write her a multi-percussion piece. I love writing music that has intellectual meaning. I think it...

Welcome! Last year, amidst marching band and indoor percussion writing, I had the headspace and creative energy to explore composing for classical percussion solo/ensemble. I had an idea for a marimba quartet that I needed to get out onto manuscript...