I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to teach at Arizona State University, The University of Tulsa, The St. Louis Conservatory of Music, and for the last 21 years here at Texas A&M University in Commerce. I enjoyed teaching a wide latitude of courses in each institution, and I was also able to pursue my activities as composer and jazz pianist.
Some of my memorable events as a composer have included: performances in Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, at The Killington International Festival in Vermont, at The Johannesen International Festival in Victoria, Canada; by The Tulsa Philharmonic Orchestra, by The Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, on National Educational Television, at The North American Saxophone Alliance Conventions in Kansas City, Dallas, and Denton; and at The Spectrum Chamber Music Series in Dallas and Fort Worth. Several of my gifted colleagues here in the Music Department have premiered my works at The Puerto Rico Conservatory, at The International Double Reed Society Convention in Salt Lake City, and at The Regional Clarinet Symposium in Oklahoma City.
I am pleased to have just received my 14th consecutive composition award from ASCAP. (The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.) This week I also received a contract for my most recent composition, which now brings my total to 44 published works with Dorn Publications and Seesaw Music Publications.
Among numerous engagements as a pianist, I particularly enjoyed being the House Pianist at The Double Tree Hotel in Tulsa, The Harvest House Hotel in Boulder, Colorado; The Safari Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona; and The Celebrity Club in Tulsa.
The Zenith of my teaching activities occurred when I arrived here in 1990 at Texas A&M. I was given the opportunity to design a Capstone Class which I taught for 15 years entitled Architecture/Music/Philosophy. My wife and I have traveled to 70 countries, and have visited over 300 buildings which were used in the course. The class began with Greek civilization and culminated in the 20th Century. It dealt with interdisciplinary relationships in Philosophy, Architecture, Music, Art, Mathematics,Physics, Economics, History, Geography, Political Theory, etc. I enjoyed teaching this class, because I always received questions that I could not answer, and I learned a great deal in attempting to bring back answers.