Welcome to my website. I am an American bassoonist and reedmaker living in the London Borough of Hackney. My studio is located on the edge of the beautiful and lively London Fields park.

I have made a life-long study of bassoon reedmaking. My original mentor for this work was the legendary American maker, Louis Skinner. I enjoyed many wonderful times living and working with Lou, usually for several days at a time during summers in my student and early-professional years. Each summer Lou would excitedly share his discoveries and thoughts developed during the past year. In recent years I’ve passed along this experience by donating my services to present reed-making seminars based on Lou’s reed styles, theories and methods, at several music conservatories, including the New England Conservatory of Music (Boston, Massachusetts, 2010 and 2013, at the invitation of the Boston Symphony’s marvelous principal bassoonist, Richard Svoboda); the Nordic Bassoon Symposium (Bergen, Norway, 2011, at the invitation of two other Skinner students, Per Hannevold and John Miller); the National University of Music in Bucharest (Romania, 2014, at the invitation of Adrian Jojatu (Boston) and Orban Godri (professor at the National University and principal bassoonist of the Bucharest (“George Enescu”) Philharmonic); and the Royal Academy of Music, London (2020, at the invitation of John Orford, professor of bassoon).

My performing experience includes positions as principal bassoonist of several professional orchestras, including the Niederrheinischen Symphoniker (Germany); the Monterrey (Mexico) Symphony; the Hofer Symphoniker (Germany); the Louisville Orchestra (assistant principal); and the Goldovsky Opera Company (New York). Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of performing most of the standard orchestra and opera repertoire. I’m especially keen on chamber music. A particular highlight was my 2007 performance of the Dietter Concerto for Two Bassoons, with John Miller, in Boston.

For the historically curious, my bassoon teachers were Leonard Sharrow (NBC Symphony, Chicago Symphony); Sherman Walt (Boston Symphony); Steven Maxym (Metropolitan Opera); and Walter Urbach (Berlin Philharmonic, Nürnberg Symphony).