I compose contemporary classical music for orchestra, chamber ensembles, solo instruments, voice, and choir, as well as some electronic and jazz music. I have had dozens of works commissioned through various funding agencies (Canada Council, Canadian Broadcasting Company, Newfoundland Arts Council, and others), and my music has been broadcast numerous times on the CBC and performed frequently throughout Canada, and in the United States, England, and Ireland.
I am a professor of composition, music theory, and classical guitar at Memorial University of Newfoundland , a fairly large, East-coast Canadian university with an excellent music programme. I am also the founder and artistic director of the Newfound Music Festival, a contemporary music festival held every February in Newfoundland. I grew up playing rock, pop, jazz, blues, and country music, and only began studying classical music relatively late in life (I had already completed a B.A. in Humanities, and was working as a bus information operator). I continue to play and listen to all these types of music, and many of my compositions reflect my musical eclecticism.
Feedback is always appreciated! You can hear more of my music and download scores for almost every composition I have written at my website .
I was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, I also lived in Caracas, Lima, Quebec, New York City, New Jersey, Brussels, and Toronto, before moving to exotic Newfoundland in my mid-thirties.
I'm married to Jennifer , a professor of Religious Studies and Popular Culture and Star Trek fan/scholar, and I have three wonderful kids (ages 17, 6, and 2) and my other interests include reading, writing stories and journals, watching and playing baseball, cycling, hiking, and shopping.
Selected Music for Classical Guitar (click to listen or download scores)
• McGillicuddy's Rant (theme and 11 variations for solo guitar)
• Andrew Jacob's Ragtime Blues (another theme and variations for solo guitar)
• I sleep and my soul awakens... (guitar + string quartet, CBC radio commission)
Selected Music for Piano (click to listen or download scores)
• Last Dance (piano solo)
• 3 Pieces for Violin and Piano (commissioned by Duo Concertante through NLAC)
• 11 Short Piano Pieces (ranging in level from fairly easy to advanced)
Selected Music for Winds (click to listen or download scores)
• Memory Quilt (flute and piano)
• Urban Dance Music (3 pieces for alto sax and audio CD, 18')
• Duck Soup (trombone, piano)
Selected Music for Strings (click to listen or download scores)
• 3 Pieces for Violin and Piano (commissioned by Duo Concertante through NLAC)
• Lamentations (unaccompanied cello)
• Wanderlust (viola, 2 percussion)
• I sleep and my soul awakens... (guitar, string quartet)
• Steppin' Out (violin, cello, piano)
• Song of Songs (soprano, violin, cello, percussion)
• Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (CBC Radio Commission)
Selected Music for Voice (click to listen or download scores)
• Song of Songs (soprano, violin, cello, percussion)
• Psalms of Despair (soprano, clarinet, piano)
• The Perfect Day (from "9/11 Songs") (soprano and piano)
Selected Music for Percussion (click to listen or download scores)
• Saturday Night in Old St. John's (2 percussion)
• Cool Stream (percussion, piano)
• Dancing on the Edge of the World (5 percussion)
Selected Jazz Music (click to listen or download scores)
• Urban Dance Music (3 pieces for alto sax and audio CD, 18')
• Late-Night Music (trumpet, piano, bass, drums)
• Jennifer's Tune (piano and bass)
