PERFORMING ARTIST

My older sister’s experience studying piano wasn’t exactly pleasant – for her or my parents. So when I came along 8 years later, they weren’t too keen on starting me with lessons right away. I remember watching my dad’s adult piano lessons, and as my interest grew, one day asked if I could study. My parents agreed with mild trepidation. By the time I started playing the music my dad was studying, he stopped and I continued on.

For as often as I remember lamenting as a child, “this is too challenging, I’ll never be able to play it,” amidst bouts of crying at how much I hated to practice, my parents remember an endlessly curious little boy who sat for hours at the keyboard. I’ve always attributed my success in music to the fact I pursued it. Music was never forced on me. I wanted to do it. It drew me in.

I began organ lessons in middle school when my dreams of solely being a pianist seemed unlikely. All the limiting beliefs about not starting young enough nor practicing long enough to solo with orchestras of the world actually became the motivation I needed to expand and explore more opportunities. And, in the process, I even realized I didn’t want that prescribed goal. The organ provided me with an ascent into a musical realm that wasn’t possible otherwise, and with it, a musical journey of great interest and constant evolution