I am currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Theory at the College of Idaho. I teach the music theory curriculum, music technology, and one-on-one piano and composition lessons. I moved to Idaho after finishing a Ph.D. in Music Theory at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montréal, QC, Canada. My dissertation, “Analyzing Beethoven’s Eroica Sketches: A Form-Functional Perspective On the First-Movement Exposition” studies Beethoven’s compositional process to his third symphony, the Eroica by reconstructing and analyzing his sketches for the piece. I completed this project with the mentorship of William E. Caplin, Distinguished James McGill Professor Emeritus of Music Theory. If you are interested in learning more about this research, I encourage you to watch my 2020 SMT video, which presents a preview with animated scores and performances of the early Eroica sketches. Additionally, an article drawn from my dissertation is now published in the inaugural edition of the relaunched Beethoven Journal. The article is titled “From ‘Radical Blunders’ to Compositional Solutions: A Form-Functional Perspective on Beethoven’s Early ‘Eroica’ Continuity Sketches”.
In 2024, the Society for Music Theory recognized two of my recent articles. “The Interaction of Mode and Psalmody in Glarean’s Circle” (Music Theory & Analysis, 2023) received the Outstanding Publication Award, and “Windows into Beethoven’s Lessons in Bonn” (Music Theory Online, 2023) received the Emerging Scholar Award.
In addition to my work on Beethoven’s compositional process, I actively research the history of music theory, musical theater and opera, and the production, composition, and theory of electronic dance music (EDM). I am an active composer-producer that focuses on progressive house (think deadmau5) and house sub-genres. You can listen to some of my original music on this page and more on Soundcloud.
Before McGill, I completed a dual concentration Masters of Music in Music Theory and Piano Performance with distinction at the University of New Mexico with co-advisors Richard Hermann and Falko Steinbach. Additionally, I hold a B.A. in Physics and Astrophysics and a B.M. in Piano Performance, summa cum laude from the same university.
Finally, I am an active pianist and have performed in the United States and Germany. I have posted several recordings of my performances on this site.