About

I often compose for music live performance for any and all ensembles. I have music available for solo, chamber, band, and orchestral ensembles. Recent concert works include Moonshot for concert band which is available now. The Great Lake Concerto, commissioned by Roosevelt University for Ed Harrison and Vadim Karpinos will premiere at Chicago’s Auditorium Theater in February 2024. . My orchestral work Breath has been performed around the United States including performances at Carnegie Hall, the James Lumber Center, and St. Catherine University. The piece was recorded by Carlock Records for my debut album and is available on multiple platforms.

As a composer for visual media, I have written soundtracks for film, commercials, and video games. Recent soundtrack releases include the full soundtrack to Ending the War on my Body, released in 2023. You can also hear my original music for Strange Creatures in the Adult Wilderness and the Jordan Black’s comedy series.

The original soundtrack for Cheesecake & Rainbow Tights, directed by T.C. DeWitt, received numerous awards including winning Best Original Score (Artists’ Choice Awards) and nominated for Best Original Music at the Motion Club Indie Film Awards. My soundtracks to LIFE and the Hipster & the Cat have also been performed live multiple times, including at the Thirsty Ears Festival and the Sound of Silent Film Festival. Other recent work can be heard here.

My work as a video games composer and sound designer includes work in Unity and Unreal Engine. I’ve participated in several game jams and am the Lead Audio Designer for Ira, Act I: Pilgrimage, due out in 2021.

In addition to writing original music, I do a lot of arrangements and orchestrations for other artists. Previous clients and performing ensembles include Renée Fleming Andrea Bocelli, Placido Domingo, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Ryan Opera Center, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Third Coast Percussion, Chinese Fine Arts Society, Charlotte New Music, John Van Geem, Austin Symphony Orchestra, Prague Symphony, RTS Symphony, Racine Symphony Orchestra and many more.

I have been honored to have been a recipient of awards and commissions including a 3Arts Project Award (2014) and numerous awards from ASCAP, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and the Illinois Arts Council. I also received funding for my research on Filipino composer Lucio D. San Pedro and presented at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History and the University of Hartford.

My work in arts administration has provided a variety of opportunities on and off the stage. I currently consult with multiple arts organizations and previous clients include the AACM, Charlotte New Music, Chinese Fine Arts Society, Midwest Music Services, Orchestra Enigmatic, and others.

From 2017 – 2020 I served as Executive Director of the Lake Forest Symphony. In this short time, the organization achieved its first financially profitable season since 2013-14. The historic 2018-19 season included its first-ever full season sponsorship from the Lake Forest Bank & Trust. Additionally, the Symphony’s debut album, Liquid Melancholy, featuring the music of Composer-in-Residence James Stephenson was nominated for a GRAMMY-Award. I also negotiated a three-year contract with the Chicago Federation of Musicians.

Prior to the Lake Forest Symphony I served simultaneously as the Executive Director for the Hyde Park Youth Symphony, Education Coordinator for the Northwest Indiana Symphony and Drumline Instructor at Loyola University Chicago. Serving as the first Executive Director for the Hyde Park Youth Symphony, I focused on building a strong structure for the organization and established a flagship season sponsorship with the University of Chicago Medicine. While at the Northwest Indiana Symphony, we began multiple new programs including a music educator award, composition competition and a community hand drumming event in East Chicago, Indiana.

My career in arts management began in 2012, working with the Chinese Fine Arts Society as the Production Manager. In my time with the organization we produced concerts at Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago’s Millennium Park, the Field Museum of Natural History, Navy Pier’s Crystal Gardens, as well as managing multiple Chinese New Year celebrations across Chicago.

I am an advocate for arts education and have taught clinics, college courses, and private lessons since 2005. In 2012, I began teaching at the collegiate level at Richard J. Daley College and Loyola University Chicago. I’ve also been a guest speaker at University of Texas-Austin, Illinois State University, Kansas State University, and Elmhurst College.

Currently I serve as the Board President for the Illinois Council of Orchestras and Secretary of the Board for the Opera Festival of Chicago. Previously I’ve served on the Composition Committee of the Percussive Arts Society and the Vic Firth Education Team. I am a proud member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and my compositions are published by Attacca Publishing.