A Music Educator

 

My life has been dedicated to serving young people from all walks of life to help them discover and relish in the power and beauty of great orchestral music. I have been very fortunate to work with professional orchestras, university and college orchestras, and alongside some of the world's great musicians. But among my most precious times are the moments I get to share with pre-college orchestra musicians.

 

I have been deeply involved both locally, nationally, and abroad working with young musicians in a variety of settings, including:

 

• Serving as music director of the Tallahassee Youth Orchestras, Inc. from 2000-2017.

• Serving as a juror and international ambassador for the European Festival of Music for Young People in Neerpelt, Belgium.

• Conducting honor orchestras throughout the United States, including those of Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Maryland, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming.

• Conducting the 2009 MENC All-Eastern Orchestra in Providence, Rhode Island.

• Serving regularly as an adjudicator  and clinician for the Florida Orchestra Association State Music Performance Assessments.    

• Serving as adjudicator and clinician for Festival Disney since 2004.

• Serving as conductor of the Festival Orchestra and Advanced Chamber Orchestra at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan.

 

At Florida State University, I have been proud to work with my colleagues in music education by offering a Ph.D. in Music Education with the emphasis in orchestral conducting. Graduates of the program have gone on to university and youth orchestra positions throughout the United States, including the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, the University of Oregon, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Ithaca College, UMKC Conservatory of Music, Carthage College, Whitman College, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and the Corvallis Youth Orchestra.