About me

I currently live in Kaysville, Utah. My wife Nanci and I are parents of five amazing children. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes also referred to as the LDS Church or Mormon Church.

I began playing the piano at the age of 6. At the age of 10, I began studying with Dr. Gary Amano, who is now the head of the piano department at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. Dr. Amano is truly one of the nation's premier piano teachers, and I am very grateful for all that he taught me.

I continued studying with Dr. Amano in college, pursuing a double major in piano performance and business finance. Although I did not completely finish my piano degree (having finished the finance degree first), the things I learned about theory, part-writing, and performance have been a great benefit to me.

I began writing and arranging music in my early 20's. My first original composition was called "Where Are You Now," a song about looking for the love of my life. My first arrangement was a men's 4-part barbershop arrangement of "The Star-Spangled Banner," which I wrote for a quartet that my high school buddies and I had formed. We sang for a USU basketball game, which was a lot of fun.

Music continues to be a dominant part of my life today. In 1998, I began a serious pursuit of studying the organ with Dr. James Drake, who has now retired after having served as the head of the organ department at Utah State University. Because of that experience, I have been fortunate to play some amazing pipe organs, such as the Tabernacle Organ, Conference Center Organ, and Assembly Hall Organ on Temple Square, the pipe organ in the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Town Hall Organ, and the organ in the Almudena Cathedral in Madrid, Spain.

I have sung in several barbershop quartets and a barbershop chorus, participated in many city musical productions, and served as organist in many LDS Church-related positions. 

I don't mean for this to sound like a bragging session; I only intend to express gratitude for a life deeply blessed with music, and to a loving God who chose to bless me with a few talents, though I'm certain I don't know why I deserve it.

After finally listening to several friends who encouraged me to write more music and share it, I decided to create a website and share my music at no charge. I am inspired by Sally DeFord, who is a talented and prolific LDS composer and arranger. She makes all of her music available at no charge, and I have decided to do the same. Nothing against those who make a living with their music; I am blessed to have a great job not related to music, so I can pursue my musical interests as a hobby.