 in high school i played in a bluegrass band and continued to write songs • upon graduation, i auditioned at carnegie mellon and was accepted as a music theater major • half way through that year, i played one of my songs for a professor who encouraged me to study composition • i changed majors and began learning instrumental music writing • during this time, songwriting took a backseat to my studies • it was after i turned 22 when my daughter, jasmine, was born, that my songs would resurface • i returned to carnegie mellon for graduate study where my instrumental works flourished • i won the harry g. archer award in composition for 'fliegende traume', an orchestral work written in memory of the astronauts of the space shuttle challenger • marvin hamlisch conducted another of my orchestral works, 'innovation', in madison square garden • 'innovation' was one of ten selected compositions in the international collegiate orchestral competition commissioned by new york met life • my main inspiration came during the many late nights of writing songs • 'baby take me home', 'quicksand', 'saturday morning', and 'when i see your face' were written during this time
after graduate school, i focused on carving a living in music for jasmine and myself • i was a jingle writer in chicago writing and performing music for various local and national radio campaigns such as coast soap and north pier • after returning to pittsburgh, i composed the theme music for the radio program, 'musical kids', for wqed-fm • my music for modern dance included commissions from the pittsburgh choreographer's continuum and the pittsburgh city dance council • my work, 'sestina for musical chairs', has been performed on numerous occasions including performances at the benedum center in pittsburgh, chatham college, the city theater and princeton university • another contemporary dance work of mine, 'eddies', has been performed at the byham theatre, chatham college, and princeton university • i composed the scores for the emmy award-winning pbs documentary 'stephanie' and the golden quill award-winning documentary, 'map of memories' produced by wqed-tv and on permanent display at the heinz history center
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my musical influences began where i grew up, on a farm north of pittsburgh, pennsylvania • my mom and dad were huge fans of bluegrass, gospel and country music, and my father was also a lover of classical music • my inspiration to play the piano came from hearing my sister, melissa, practice • melissa and robert, my brother, were also ardent fans of classic rock • so an ordinary musical day at home could range from beethoven and mozart, to willie nelson and patsy cline, to kansas, james taylor and steve miller
in 1998 i started teaching dalcroze eurhythmics at duquesne university • i wrote the processional music, 'jubilans', for the inauguration of duquesne university's president, dr. charles dougherty and the theme song, 'blues on the bluff', for the 2004 and 2005 jazz society and duquesne university alumni summer concert • while at duquesne, i found my way back to my songs and decided to finally record some of my older songs while writing new ones like, 'facing west', 'isn't it a shame', 'contagious', and 'ghost' • i credit my family for my ability to write in various styles and i admit that my songwriting has given me the most inspiration • though i've enjoyed writing instrumental music, it's my songs • that's where i can talk • i can write what i can't say so well • 'on fire' is definitely a turning point song for me - you know like how you can just feel something's coming, like you're leaving something behind for something else • 'on fire', my premiere cd release, is an honest and introspective look at my past and that something else