I’m currently reading the book, The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World, by His Holiness The Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, MD. In Chapter 10, The Dalai Lama states… “Much of our suffering in life is caused not by external causes but by internal events such as the arising of disturbing emotions. And […]
Are you a Canadian musician trying to navigate your way through the sometimes complex world of grant applications to fund your projects? It can be a daunting process…I know! But thanks to the collective work with my wife and manager, Lisa Horvat, we have been fortunate to receive a number of grants over the years […]
Other than composing, playing and teaching music, I also LOVE listening to music! Any and all styles, I’m always interested in discovering new things. In recent years as Spotify has come along, I appreciate their playlists where you can basically make “mix tapes” on various themes. It’s also interesting to see how my own music […]
This past week, I heard of the passing of famed photographer, Frank Horvat, at the age of 92. I came upon Mr. Horvat’s work back in the 1990s when I googled myself (I know…that’s vain). Having just started my professional music career, there was not much content online about me, however there was much to […]
Here are some things that I find very concerning… The unemployment rate in the US got to a record high of 14.7% when the pandemic began.1 Since then it has fallen to 7.9% yet millions of Americans continue to not be able to find a job.2 Meanwhile, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos saw his net worth […]
Since the COVID pandemic began, I’ve been racking my brain in trying to come up with new ideas about how I should be functioning in this new reality of musical life. I feel grateful to have conceived and been facilitating the Music for Self-Isolation project, but I still feel that our music community could use […]
Sigh…self-criticism has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. Being a musician isn’t exactly the best type of pastime to avoid such a mental activity. Like many aspiring musicians, being critical of myself was part of my daily routine. When you’re trying to master something, it is near impossible to […]
The title is actually a direct question I would appreciate your perspective on. I have had an Instagram account for a while now. But I have never posting anything there. Yet, people are posting performances of my music, often exclusively, there so I feel compelled to be more engaged. Here’s the latest vid, a beautiful […]
It doesn’t take much to get off course from important life habits. As disciplined as I tend to be, I’m also prone to getting off course with important everyday things. That’s not to say that I stopped completely, but I just haven’t been doing these important things as much as usual. Example 1, going for […]
Hanging pictures or artwork in your home is such a common activity that makes you feel, well…more at home. My home is also my work and creative space so it’s fitting that what I place on the walls in this space also represents that part of my life. A bunch of months ago, I realized […]
This past week, Lisa and I got away to a nice Airbnb in Ontario’s farming communities that make up Norfolk County. Rest and relaxation was at the top of our priory list for such a vacation. When we started 2020, there were many grand plans in the works for travel this year: June in Quito […]
Being a strict follower of the Paleo diet, grains are strictly forbidden from entering my body. Because of my Crohns Disease, I have always avoided any wheat products and even rice in order to maintain peak digestive health. Basically I eat a lot of vegetables, fruit and some meat…that’s all! I know, it sounds pretty […]
When the COVID Pandemic began in earnest earlier this spring here in Toronto, I was inundated with a plethora of postponements, cancellations and uncertainties. I was also concerned for my music colleagues who were almost overnight faced with grave concerns for their livelihood. All I could think of doing to ease my own unease and […]
The whole point of having a blog is to share my thoughts and feelings and have people read them. So I’m not doing a good job of that if I pick topics to write about that people don’t want to think about. But for this post, I’ll do it anyway…the second wave of COVID-19. If […]
During the Pandemic, I am so grateful that I have been able to stay busy. Despite the shutdowns and isolation, I actually feel like it’s been even more busy than usual working on a number of great creative projects. Thanks to technology, I have also been able to continue to see most of my students […]
