I am originally from Ellenwood, GA which a suburb of Atlanta. I am a bass trombone player. I studied music education at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL. My principal teacher there was Brian Brink. I earned my Bachelors of Music Education in 1999. I began teaching in January of 2000 in Hardee County which is south of Lakeland. I taught middle school for 2 1/2 years there and helped with the high school band. While teaching, I was able to perform with various groups in central Florida. I married my wife in 2001 and we moved to Gainesville in 2002. I entered the University of Florida in the summer of 2002 where I earned my Masters of Music Performance in trombone. My principal teacher there was Arthur Jennings. After graduation, my daughter Layla was born and I took the position at Hawthorne Middle/High School as Director of Bands. I was at Hawthorne from 2004-2007. I began my current position as the music teacher at Williams Elementary in Gainesville during the 2007-2008 school year. In March of 2008 we celebrated the birth of our son Miles.
I have been a presenter at the International Arts and Humanities Conference in Hawaii and I have published an article in the Instrumentalist magazine in the fall of 2008. I am the director of the Gainesville Big Band. In addition, I am an active performer with various groups in the Gainesville area, ranging from classical to jazz.
My teaching philosophy is to foster a life long love and appreciation of music. I don’t expect my students to become profession musicians but I would love if they would participate in various civic and church groups once they are out of school. I also feel that it is my job to work with parents and other teachers and community leaders to help students be successful now so they succeed in the future no matter what profession they decide to enter
Here are three fun facts about me:
1. I love soccer
2. I like video games
3. I love to cook(when there’s time)
