Thank you for visiting my personal website! I am excited to introduce myself to you!

I was born in Franklin, PA in April of 1998. From a young age, I have enjoyed listening to and making music. Some of my favorite musicians at a young age were Percy Grainger, J.S. Bach, and bands such as Newsboys and Coldplay. My love for music only increased with age, as my father (a Western PA band director himself) would fuel my interest further.

In middle school, I joined band for the first time as a saxophone player. Quickly, my love for performance matured into a lifestyle and passion. It was at this point that I was absolutely certain that I knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I joined the jazz band and did some early work with my high school marching band as well, and became more consistent in my practice routine and studies.

In high school, I refined my techniques in band further, and found success in marching band, concert band, jazz band, and indoor drumline. Below are some of my accolades during my time in high school music (See Honors and Awards for a more detailed list):

• PMEA All-State Musician

• NAfME All-National US Musician

• Silver and Bronze Medalist with the DAHS Indoor Drumline

• Drum Major of the DAHS Marching Band

In College, I further refined my skills as a musician and saxophonist and began to focus primarily on my educating skills. During my years at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, I found success in the Saxophone Studio, Wind Ensemble, and Symphony Band. I was the principal saxophonist with the IUP Symphony band (under the direction of Dr. Jason Worzbyt), as well as a principal musician in various quartets and ensembles. I had the opportunity to be a guest conductor for the IUP Saxophone studio on more than one occasion, and found success in my education courses. I had the opportunity to work with Mr. Brian Tychinski, of Hempfield High school (Greensburg, PA) as well as Mr. Timothy Sheridan of Latrobe High School (Latrobe, PA) and Mr. Michael Menzietti of Latrobe Elementary (also Latrobe, PA) during my student teaching and pre-student teaching studies.

I also worked extensively with the Southmoreland Marching Band (Alverton, PA) as the woodwind instructor from 2017-2020. In my time there, the woodwind sections under my direction earned numerous praises for their performance, musicality, balance, intonation, and more. Also during my time at IUP I had the opportunity to work with the IUP Community Music School where I taught lessons with multiple students, developing my own small but successful private studio.

In August of 2020, I accepted a position with Manassas City Public Schools (Manassas, VA) as a Guitar and Music Technology teacher for Grace E. Metz Middle School. In my time there, I grew as a professional musician, educator, and as a person. In my time with the Manassas City Public Schools, I worked hard to students with a strong passion for music and a desire to create their own works. Of the 1,200 students enrolled in 7th and 8th grade at Metz (84% minority enrollment, 53% eligible for Free or reduced lunch) , I had the privilege of teaching 215 students. My connection with students through distance education was rewarding on so many levels, and being able to help students from Manassas to learn more about music and how to create it was special.

Currently, I am looking to build a strong and vibrant music program within Western Pennsylvania that serves my students and the communities that they live in. I was fortunate to fall in love with music here in this amazing region, and I wish to pass that passion and blessing on to our students of the present and future.

While I am undoubtedly passionate about music and my teaching, I also have many other non-music hobbies that I enjoy. Some of those include:

• Fishing (trout, bass, crappie, and carp/catfish)

• Hunting

• Hiking

• Biking

• Exercising

• Kayaking

• Woodworking

• Video Editing

• Audio Editing

• Gaming (PC, Xbox)

• Building/Fixing Computers

• Traveling

• Visiting Family and Friends

Thank you for checking out my About Me Page! Please feel free to browse my other pages on this site as well.