Hate Distraction Apathy Laziness Spin Mindlessness Dread Repression Destruction Sick Pessimism Hopelessness War Injustice Disrespect Narrow-mindedness Hate (did I already say that?)
Blog
Most Important Words To Me Right Now…
Love Focus Inspiration Discipline Music Creativity Anticipation Stimulation Planet Health Optimism Possibilities Peace Justice Humanity Acceptance Love (did I already say that?)
Simple Goals
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 […]
What I did for the summer
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 […]
America, I Love You, But You Can Do Better
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 […]
Fighting Climate Change…as guided by David Suzuki!
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 […]
Juggling Hour-Long Compositions
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, […]
Feeling Grateful to Spend Your Kids’ Inheritance
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 […]
Goodbye Boyanna
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 […]
Why Sports Has Made Me a Better Artist
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? […]
Reflections on a European Adventure
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 […]
More Blue Mind…Less Plastic
Yet another video posted on my Twitter feed this morning of plastic and garbage floating en masse in a pristine waterway. Despite the good intent of many to spread the word, research shows that the problem of plastic being dumped in our lakes, rivers and oceans is getting worse. Many community groups have taken up […]
Make plans to ‘Spend Your Kids’ Inheritance’
I’m so excited this week! I’ve been working on the music for this musical project for 5 years now. But this is the first week when I can really talk about it coming to life since we’re about 2 months away from unleashing Spend Your Kids’ Inheritance onto the world, or at least at the […]
Why I Don’t Wear My Wedding Ring
I am so grateful to be in an incredibly loving marriage with my soulmate. But ironically, I have no interest in wearing my wedding ring. At least that’s the way it’s been for the past couple of years. Yes, my ring finger has been “al fresco” for a while now. My 22nd wedding anniversary comes […]
European Adventures in May
Very excited to share that Lisa and I will be in Europe this May! It’s been quite a while since we crossed “the pond” and we’re really looking forward to the sights, sounds, and experiences that await us. Here are the highlights of what we have to look forward to… The European premiere of my […]
