Composer/Arranger

Welcome to the Composer/Arranger side of my website. By clicking on "A List of My Works" on the left menu, you will see an on-going listing of my original compositions and arrangements.

From the beginning of my music training, I have always had an interest in all instruments and how music is put together. I did not begin composing music until I was in graduate school at West Texas State University (now WTAMU), but after looking back at my music experiences in my life, I realized that composing became a natural step for me.

I remember my high school years in the Field High School Royal Gardsmen Marching Band (Ohio), sitting in the bleachers during the football game. Instead of watching the game, I would sit next to another band member who played a different instrument and I would pick their brain about how it was played. I would learn fingerings and concepts about the instrument through those football games and I never tired of asking my colleagues questions about their instrument.

During those same high school years, I was also interested in calligraphy and using manuscript pens to copy music. By copying and transcribing music of the masters, I got the "feel" of how music was written for various instruments and I began to understand that the "look" of the manuscript can affect how the musician approaches that first reading. If the manuscript is sloppy, spaced awkwardly, etc., the musician will not have a very good attitude towards reading the music and consequently not make it come alive. Transcribing allowed me to understand the "character" of each musical instrument and how they sounded in their various ranges. Arranging started evolving for me when I started listening to arrangements by Chip Davis and others who took a well-known song and made it an entirely new and creative piece.

I recall sitting in a Music Theory Pedagogy class taught by Dr. Norman J. Nelson at West Texas State University (now WTAMU). The class had submitted the first assignment which was to compose a melody. I carefully composed a melody and copied it into my best music manuscript. I remember a light going off in my head when Dr. Nelson played my melody at the piano and commented something like, "Now this could be a real melody in a real composition." I realized that up to that point I had always used someone else's melody, never my own. If I can arrange a piece of music with someone else's melody, why couldn't I arrange my own melody? That was the start of the composer stage. I still arrange because I enjoy it but now that I know I can compose original works, it has opened a new world for me.

In 2004, after composing and arranging numerous pieces for Shepherd's Trio and other ensembles and orchestras, I was asked by Dr. Steven Weber to consider arranging something for the Amarillo College graduation ceremony. Both Steve and Dr. Jim Rauscher, Chairman of the Music Department at Amarillo College (and Shepherd's Trio's pianist) knew my style of writing so they commissioned me to write an arrangement of "God Bless America" to feature opera diva Mary Jane Johnson, the Amarillo College Choir and Concert Band. Up until this point, I had only written for instrumentalists and not for voice. I've participated in various choirs throughout my life and understood some basic principles about voice writing but this was another new world for me working with words, voice leading and ranges, and the operatic voice. It was like a big addictive puzzle to me and I enjoyed every minute of it.

There is so much more to learn in composing and arranging. I've only scratched the surface of this long journey. I hope you will enjoy browsing through the composer/arranger portion of my website. Please check back often as I keep adding pieces from my current collection and to see what's new.

Each composition and arrangement has instrumentation information, examples of the score, and prices. Often an MP3 of either a recording or a Finale sound file will be listed.

Thanks for visiting!
Please be sure to visit the Performer side of my website too.