|
I moved to Chicago at the end of 2022 but have kept busy enough that it feels like it was only yesterday. I'm very fortunate to spend a decent amount of time on the road touring with the historic vocal group The Four Freshmen. I sing the lead melody part and do a little arranging for the group and really enjoy being a part of keeping the legendary Freshmen sound alive. They were my grandfather's favorite band, and I love carrying the tradition forward in new ways and sharing it with fans and students all over the country in masterclasses, workshops, and of course, concerts.
Before joining the Freshmen, my life was teaching college; it kept me sprinting and I loved it. Between 2009 and 2022 I taught at The School for Music Vocations (SMV), a unique community college music program in Creston, IA for a total of 10 years. |
Throughout that time I had the wonderful privilege of teaching several levels of Music Theory, Jazz Arranging, and Music Production, well as Beginning Jazz Piano, Jazz Improvisation, Ear Training, Songwriting, Solo Jazz Literature, and Applied Classical and Jazz Voice lessons. I also directed the Concert Choir, several vocal and instrumental jazz ensembles, and served administratively in a variety of capacities.
Before my time in Iowa, I attended Mansfield University of Pennsylvania where I initially double-majored in Music Education and (Classical) Vocal Performance. After my fourth year however, with one very light semester and student teaching left to go, life pulled me, rather urgently, to study jazz at the SMV in Creston with legendary educator Phil Mattson before he retired, and although I ultimately didn't get to learn from Phil directly, his curriculum was life-changing. I was immersed in music with an incredible faculty including Jason Smith, Lucas Mattson, and Dr. Jeremy Fox, and I was thriving. After less than a year of study the faculty offered me a job if I could get my bachelor's by the fall. I decided to forgo student teaching, and with one summer class and testing out of another two I got the Performance half of my double major by August, started teaching less than a month later, and have never regretted it!
After teaching in Iowa for five years, it was time for an adventure in the form of graduate school, and from 2014-2016 I was so lucky to continue my teaching streak serving as a Teaching Fellow for the University of North Texas Vocal Jazz department while pursuing my Masters in Jazz Studies. I taught privately, directed ensembles, and served as a Songwriting and Vocal Arranging TA under Dr. Rosana Eckert and Jennifer Barnes. It was life-changing.
In 2016 I returned to teaching at the SMV in Creston. It was there, in 2020, while I was teaching full-time during the pandemic that I was lucky enough to join The Four Freshmen, initially singing lead melody and playing bass. It was about two years later that Multiple Sclerosis began to impede my hand function too much to play bass regularly and at a professional level.
The band decided bass was the easiest instrument to sub-out locally for each gig, making it possible for me to continue to tour with the group today, even though the group has historically been self-accompanied. Still, the band is active, touring all over the country, continuing a now 75 year-old legacy. In 2022, in collaboration with famed jazz musicians Emmet Cohen, Russell Hall, and Kyle Poole, we recorded two albums-worth of new arrangements, some of which have been featured on the most recent album, and more are to be released soon.
Over my career I've been fortunate to work quite a bit as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the US, most notably serving on the staff for the SMV Summer Vocal Jazz Workshops for over a decade, teaching vocal improvisation, serving as head sound technician, coaching jazz singers, and arranging and directing ensemble selections. I also coordinated the School for Music Vocations' Vocal Jazz Festival for five years--one of the largest in the midwest. I was the guest director for three district jazz festivals, several Southwest Iowa choral festivals, and have twice presented sessions on vocal jazz rehearsal techniques at the JEN national jazz education conference. All. So. Fun.
Beyond singing, I love playing piano, guitar, bass, and saxophone, really want an accordion, love riding bike and playing disc golf, enjoy both cats and dogs but likes cats more, and hope you have a great day.
Before my time in Iowa, I attended Mansfield University of Pennsylvania where I initially double-majored in Music Education and (Classical) Vocal Performance. After my fourth year however, with one very light semester and student teaching left to go, life pulled me, rather urgently, to study jazz at the SMV in Creston with legendary educator Phil Mattson before he retired, and although I ultimately didn't get to learn from Phil directly, his curriculum was life-changing. I was immersed in music with an incredible faculty including Jason Smith, Lucas Mattson, and Dr. Jeremy Fox, and I was thriving. After less than a year of study the faculty offered me a job if I could get my bachelor's by the fall. I decided to forgo student teaching, and with one summer class and testing out of another two I got the Performance half of my double major by August, started teaching less than a month later, and have never regretted it!
After teaching in Iowa for five years, it was time for an adventure in the form of graduate school, and from 2014-2016 I was so lucky to continue my teaching streak serving as a Teaching Fellow for the University of North Texas Vocal Jazz department while pursuing my Masters in Jazz Studies. I taught privately, directed ensembles, and served as a Songwriting and Vocal Arranging TA under Dr. Rosana Eckert and Jennifer Barnes. It was life-changing.
In 2016 I returned to teaching at the SMV in Creston. It was there, in 2020, while I was teaching full-time during the pandemic that I was lucky enough to join The Four Freshmen, initially singing lead melody and playing bass. It was about two years later that Multiple Sclerosis began to impede my hand function too much to play bass regularly and at a professional level.
The band decided bass was the easiest instrument to sub-out locally for each gig, making it possible for me to continue to tour with the group today, even though the group has historically been self-accompanied. Still, the band is active, touring all over the country, continuing a now 75 year-old legacy. In 2022, in collaboration with famed jazz musicians Emmet Cohen, Russell Hall, and Kyle Poole, we recorded two albums-worth of new arrangements, some of which have been featured on the most recent album, and more are to be released soon.
Over my career I've been fortunate to work quite a bit as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the US, most notably serving on the staff for the SMV Summer Vocal Jazz Workshops for over a decade, teaching vocal improvisation, serving as head sound technician, coaching jazz singers, and arranging and directing ensemble selections. I also coordinated the School for Music Vocations' Vocal Jazz Festival for five years--one of the largest in the midwest. I was the guest director for three district jazz festivals, several Southwest Iowa choral festivals, and have twice presented sessions on vocal jazz rehearsal techniques at the JEN national jazz education conference. All. So. Fun.
Beyond singing, I love playing piano, guitar, bass, and saxophone, really want an accordion, love riding bike and playing disc golf, enjoy both cats and dogs but likes cats more, and hope you have a great day.