Biography

Florida, USA: 1988-2002

I was born in a bathtub in Orlando, Florida on June 8th, 1988 at 21:45 in the evening. I was greeted by my loving parents Diane and Bruce and my two older sisters Allison and Emilee. At this point there were no musicians in the family. When I was 10 years old my parents divorced and by coincidence each ended up marrying a professional musician. My father married a young classical pianist who’s regular study of Rachmaninov in our living room was perhaps my first introduction to classical music. My mother married a singer and guitar player who ended up being the first person to show me a few chords on the old six string. Though I’m no longer much in contact with either of them, these two temporary additions to my family deserve credit for setting me on my early musical path.

My first experience as a performer was an unusual one. In 4th grade (age 10) we were studying William Shakespeare when our wonderful teacher had the brilliant idea of letting us put on our own heavily abridged version of Macbeth. I was democratically elected to portray the title role and though I’m told I licked my lips with nervousness through the entire performance, I enjoyed it enough to join the Orlando Shakespeare Festival Young Company that summer. This began a lasting love affair with the plays of Shakespeare, as well as an increasing desire to be on the stage. 

As a young actor I was often told that I had a strong voice and should consider vocal training. I discovered a small after school program near my home where I could ride my bike each day for singing and dancing lessons. Here I was introduced to classical singing and opera for the first time. I became obsessed and eventually joined the Central Florida Lyric Opera at the age of 12. At 13 I began high school at the largest public school in the state of Florida. 

California: 2002-2006

After two weeks of misery in the public school system, my father suggested we visit a performing arts boarding school in California called the Idyllwild Arts Academy. A short visit turned into 4 years of training as a classical singer and guitarist. During those 4 years in Idyllwild I also began writing songs, kissing girls, and regularly eating psychedelic mushrooms. I graduated high school an 18 year old baritone, mediocre guitarist, and amateur shaman. 

Glasgow: 2006-2010

During my final year of high school, my father and I visited the United Kingdom where I had the opportunity to sing for all of the heads of the Royal Schools of music in both England and Scotland. I found a teacher, Prof. Steven Robertson at the Royal Scottish Conservatory and was fortunate enough to be awarded a full scholarship by the Associate Board of Royal Schools of Music as well as a supplementary private scholarship from Sir Sean Connery and The Friends of Scotland. I spent 4 years in Glasgow intensely dedicated to classical singing, art song and folk music. There I started my first band King Arthur’s Men, and began working as a street performer, playing guitar and percussion together with a Highland Bagpipe player. 

My third year at the Scottish Conservatory I spent on exchange in Pesaro at the Rossini Conservatory. There I began learning Italian and discovering a new home in Italy. 

Bologna: 2010-2011

After graduating from the conservatory in Glasgow I decided to move to Bologna on a whim. There may have been a woman involved. Either way, I ended up enjoying a rather charmed life there for a year, studying with a wonderful Italian tenor by the name of Romano Emili, teaching guitar in exchange for local wine and olive oil, and making my living as a street performer. Here I discovered the Neapolitan Song repertoire, a tradition that continues to inspire me today. 

Vienna: 2011-Present

In 2011 I auditioned for the masters program (Sologesang) at the Privat Konservatorium Wien and was admitted to the studio of Prof. Sylvia Greenberg. There I studied for 3 years, including one year in the Liedklasse of Angelika Kirschlager. During my studies I began experimenting with Schubert songs on the guitar and reconstructing German language poems in English. This led to the founding of my first ensemble in Vienna, The Erlkings. 

The Erlkings had their first concert at the jazz club Porgy and Bess in October of 2014. Since then we have gone on to play at Wigmore Hall in London, The Oxford Lieder Festival, Wiener Konzerthaus, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Konzerthaus Berlin, Heidelberger Frühling, Ludwigsburger Schloss Festspiel, and the International Hugo Wolf Academy to name a few of the more prominent venues. We have recorded two albums of Schubert Lieder including Die schöne Müllerin and recently released our first double album of Schumann Lieder. This year we are looking forward to concerts with the Bayrische Rundfunk in Deggendorf, the Schubertiade in Hohenems, a return to the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, and a number of other exciting performances around Europe. 

In 2015 I met David Stellner and Raphael Widmann, with whom I began the Volkslieder ensemble Die Wandervögel. I mostly play mandolin and we all sing German, Austrian and Jiddisch folk songs of the last 300-400 years. Since 2015 we have performed all over Austria and Germany, in nearly all of the Balkan countries, Greece and the United States. We have released three albums of folk songs and original compositions. Next year we are looking forward to our much awaited debut at the Schrammelklang Festival. We are proud to be selected members of Musik Aktuell and the New Austrian Sound of Music. 

I have been a songwriter since I was 15 years old and continue to write songs regularly. I currently have several solo programs as well as multiple different formations of musicians with whom I perform my own compositions. I’ve released one album with Bryan Benner and The Pool Boys (“Fat Sunshine”), one album in collaboration with Christoph Zimper (“Giniginamar”), and a double solo album entitled “The Modern Man, The Modern Muse”. My most recent solo project is my new album “Stay Hydrated” which was released in December 2020. Nearly all of my recording projects have been funded through crowdfunding.  

I’m very happy to live in Vienna and would like to stay if they’ll let me. I still have lots of ideas I haven’t tried yet.