For the past month, I’ve been walking to my teaching studio at 6:30 every weekday morning to practice piano for 2 hours. The walk, approximately 20min in duration, has been dark and cold. You might think that this would be a very miserable and tedious endeavour. But on the contrary, I can’t remember a previous […]
I’m presently taking a wonderful online personal development course called Lifebook. In it, the facilitator, Jon Butcher, brought up Benjamin Franklin’s Thirteen Virtues, a list of ideals and habits that Franklin mapped out for himself in 1726 when he was 20 years old. A sort of code to live by. I was so surprised that […]
I have this routine where I listen to a new album each morning as I prep breakfast, do dishes and spend time on social media. Usually I pick albums to listen to from various award and prize lists – in other words, albums that are very critically acclaimed. Friday was unique because instead of listening […]
Canada’s federal election takes place Monday, October 21. But I already cast my ballot last weekend at an advanced poll. I decided to vote for the Green Party. I voted for the Liberals last election getting caught up in Trudeau-mania 2.0. But this government has been an extreme disappointment. After promising to enact electoral reform […]
Hate Distraction Apathy Laziness Spin Mindlessness Dread Repression Destruction Sick Pessimism Hopelessness War Injustice Disrespect Narrow-mindedness Hate (did I already say that?)
Love Focus Inspiration Discipline Music Creativity Anticipation Stimulation Planet Health Optimism Possibilities Peace Justice Humanity Acceptance Love (did I already say that?)
On our day off this week, Lisa and I sat at our kitchen table just chilling out and chatting. Out of the blue, Lisa nonchalantly asked me, “what are your goals for this coming fall?” Honestly, I felt a little blindsided by the question. It’s not that we never discuss goal-setting. Au contraire, being freelance […]
I’m back home in Toronto after a 3-week artist residency at the Dorland Mountain Arts Colony in southern California. It was nice to have a change of scenery though my daily routine stayed pretty much the same, which satisfied my obsessive-compulsive A-type personality:)! It was an extremely productive 3-weeks composing-wise. The main objective of the […]
I’m completing what will be my longest stay in the United States, a 3-week wonderful experience at the Dorland Mountain Arts Colony in Southern California where I have been composing new music. I’ve also had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people. Having great interactions is not unprecedented or surprising. In my previous trips to […]
I really like the David Suzuki Foundation’s list of 10 ways we can all help fight climate change. I highly encourage you to read and share it. I find it to be a great resource and benchmark to assess where I’m at in controlling my own carbon footprint. Here are some things that stood out […]
I feel very grateful to be in Temecula, California attending an artist residency at the Dorland Mountain Arts Colony. The plan was to compose a follow-up to my hour-long piano composition for the dark, Earth Hour. So far, a week into my 3 weeks here, I’ve been composing something else. It’s also an hour-long piece, […]
For the past few weeks, I’ve been very fortunate to sit in on rehearsals for the new musical, Spend Your Kids’ Inheritance. I’ve composed the music for this show. It’s been a part of my life for the past five years. I’m so happy to see it hit an important moment with its world premiere […]
This week I received the news that my former piano teacher, Boyanna Toyich, passed away. When I saw the news flash over my screen, I was stunned and suddenly filled with an immense amount of grief. When I was a student at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Music from 1993-97, she was a key […]
The city and country I call home have become entranced by a game where you put a ball through a basket. And I too have been caught up in the frenzy of the Raptors becoming NBA Champions. On the surface, that doesn’t make much sense…why would a composer of modern art music care about sports? […]
From May 13 to June 4, Lisa and I were so fortunate to have a dream trip to Europe. It’s not like it was our first trip to Europe…we’ve been a bunch of times over the years. But this trip seemed extra special in that we had a chance to visit with people we admire […]
