I grew up outside of Columbus Ohio. I began playing piano at age 8, but didn't appreciate the practice and quickly gave up. Always interested in singing, I performed internationally in show choirs throughout middle and high school, though it was at the age of 14 I discovered the guitar and never looked back. I attended Fort Hayes Vocational Music Program rather than a traditional school. There, under Jeff McCargish, I was taught the value and characteristics of all genres of music, as well as reading, theory, and performance. Thanks to Jeff I began performing professionally at 16 and began teaching other Fort Hayes students at age 17.
After Fort Hayes, I moved to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania to study jazz and classical guitar as well as recording arts at Duquense University. It was at Duquense that I honed my performance and theory skills while studying with a variety of influential instructors. Taylor Sinclair, Mark Koch, Ken Karsh, and Tom Kikta were my primary guitar instructors, I also studied jazz and classical theory under Sean Jones, David Cutler, and Mike Tomaro. It was during my time at Duquense that I became fixated on jazz and began devoting more time to my practice.
Following my tenure at Duquesne, I spent several years as a professional musician in Pittsburgh. I taught privately as well as through several independent stores where I further developed my teaching methodology and began seriously studying pedagogy. I also worked as a gigging musician and guitar tech (both privately as well as for music stores) I started the guitar tech department of Caruso's Music (South Hills) and The Guitar Center (Western PA region). Finding I had reached the limit of my career in Pittsburgh it was time to once again move forward.
At the advice of mentors and friends, I moved to New York City in 2012 to begin studying jazz more rigorously. In New York, I studied under Wayne Krantz, Mike Stern, Garry Dial, and Barry Harris. I learned modern jazz guitar as well as the Charlie Bonacos and Barry Harris scaffold and pedagogies. Continuing my work as a gigging musician, I was fortunate to have residencies in some of the premier jazz clubs in NYC including; Nublu, The Bitter End, and WMC Jazz. I expanded my performance career by working as a studio musician and musical director for Smash Studios in midtown Manhattan. As an instructor, I continued my private studio as well as working for independent lesson centers; NYC Guitar Instruction, and Music Beans Manhattan.
In 2017 after a decade of working as a gigging musician and instructor, I had several epiphanies that changed the course of my career forever.. Coming from a family of compassionate educators, I recognized and was disappointed by the state of contemporary music instruction and realized that my true passion was teaching. I wanted to transform an individual's life by transforming their relationship to music and its practice. In tandem with this realization, I also discovered the interrelated connections between learning music and learning mathematics. I then decided to enroll at The City College of New York to study mathematics and education so that I might be a more effective music instructor. During my time at CCNY, I took a sabbatical from performing to focus on developing my own methodologies while studying pedagogy.
In 2021, I began working as a Musical Mentor. I currently work with individuals who are ready to transform their lives with the practice of music, much in the same ways that it has transformed my own.