Biography
Professor of Practice / Jazz & Composition – Texas State University School of Music
• MacDowell Norton Stevens Fellow in Composition
• National Endowment for the Arts Fellow in Jazz Composition (1979)
• Fulbright Senior Specialist in Jazz Studies
• National Endowment for the Arts Project Specialist
• Research Scholar, Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University—Newark
• Recipient - Texas State University Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarly / Creative Activities; featured in Spotlight on Excellence at Texas State; Dean’s Seminar Award recipient
• Distinguished Academic Member, International Conference on Visual and Performing Arts, Athens Institute for Education and Research (Athens, Greece)
• Pianist with the Grammy®-nominated jazz ensemble John Mills Times Ten
• Co-leader, composer, and pianist with Double Vision, Austin jazz quartet performing all-original music
• Lifetime voting member of the The GRAMMY® Awards
• First Place, National Association of Composers USA – Composer Competition
• Recipient of the 2025 Aaron Copland Fund for Music Award for Performance Program
• Featured in national media, including All About Jazz and Voyage Austin
• MacDowell Norton Stevens Fellow in Composition
• National Endowment for the Arts Fellow in Jazz Composition (1979)
• Fulbright Senior Specialist in Jazz Studies
• National Endowment for the Arts Project Specialist
• Research Scholar, Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University—Newark
• Recipient - Texas State University Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarly / Creative Activities; featured in Spotlight on Excellence at Texas State; Dean’s Seminar Award recipient
• Distinguished Academic Member, International Conference on Visual and Performing Arts, Athens Institute for Education and Research (Athens, Greece)
• Pianist with the Grammy®-nominated jazz ensemble John Mills Times Ten
• Co-leader, composer, and pianist with Double Vision, Austin jazz quartet performing all-original music
• Lifetime voting member of the The GRAMMY® Awards
• First Place, National Association of Composers USA – Composer Competition
• Recipient of the 2025 Aaron Copland Fund for Music Award for Performance Program
• Featured in national media, including All About Jazz and Voyage Austin
Research Interests
• Jazz history and archival research, with particular emphasis on Dan Morgenstern and the Institute of Jazz Studies
• National Endowment for the Arts jazz-related research and documentation projects
• Book project in progress: Symmetry in Jazz
• Research on Thelonious Monk’s works for piano
• Intersections of creative practice, scholarship, and preservation in jazz
• National Endowment for the Arts jazz-related research and documentation projects
• Book project in progress: Symmetry in Jazz
• Research on Thelonious Monk’s works for piano
• Intersections of creative practice, scholarship, and preservation in jazz
Teaching Interests
• Jazz piano and improvisation
• Contemporary jazz theory, harmony, and composition
• Advanced piano technique in classical and jazz contexts
• Creative process and interdisciplinary practice in music and art
• Jazz history, listening, and research-based creative work
• Music technology for musicians: recording, video, websites, metadata, and self-presentation
• Contemporary jazz theory, harmony, and composition
• Advanced piano technique in classical and jazz contexts
• Creative process and interdisciplinary practice in music and art
• Jazz history, listening, and research-based creative work
• Music technology for musicians: recording, video, websites, metadata, and self-presentation