My poetry studies under Erica Kaufman and Philip Pardi fleshed out my writing under major influence from the New York School of Poetry and Ecopoetics. Derek Furr and Michael Ives were additionally impactful professors during my time there, who exposed me to the soul of language as well as international poetic forms.

Presently, I am a candidate for publishing several books of poetry, law school, film and stage acting, and operas within the Greater Los Angeles Area.

Music to my ears…

Born and raised in the SoCal sand I couldn’t be kept away from music, performing, or writing, the whole lot. From the first pluck of my father’s old Takamine acoustic, I believe some part of me set aside my mind, my heart, for entertaining and thinking. I went to middle and high school at Rolling Hills Preparatory where I carved out a passion for singing in classical recitals, musicals, and in rock bands. For some reason I never found myself being the cover band kind of guy, so I dug into songwriting. From there, poetics, original songs, opera, and plays all worked to cultivate my idea of a creative pursuit.

Later, at Bard College and Conservatory, I chased a double degree in creative writing and vocal performance. I was among the very first class to graduate the conservatory’s vocal program (which had long remained a program designated under the college side, not conservatory) as a student of Rufus Müller’s, with some additional training from Ilka LoMonaco, Teresa Buchholz, David Sytkowski, and Erika Switzer.