Artist's Statement

Had to write one in 250 words or less. This is what came out.

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I am an academic, experimental musician who finds value in the production and consumption of commercial music. I think music is, as all art, sacred in a way, especially when unadulterated by ulterior motives; but I admire commercial music, which must accomplish an estimable goal. This relationship with commercial music has informed a tendency I have to write concert music that is clearly conceptual, that draws attention to its concept (the idea [or "gimmick"] behind the piece) far more than to its material (the notes and rhythms that make up the piece). It is with these concepts that I attempt to be incisive and moving; I see my music as essays on my philosophy of life. I also musically probe the philosophies of my audience; my most treasured reason for making music is the opportunity it affords me to interact meaningfully with others.

My status as a composer makes me a cultural critic. It is the critic in me that thinks people who say music takes them to a place that is "beyond words" are wrong; I am an experimental musician that believes in the academics of aesthetics before the transcendence of aesthetics. What I think people are talking about is music that they could describe, but, in that divine moment of being touched by it, don't bother to try for fear of interrupting true beauty. Though I am academic, conceptual, critical, and sometimes commercial, even I cannot deny the ambition to create a moment like this.