Education

Classroom
  • Ed.D. in Educational Leadership (Virginia Commonwealth University, May, 2014)
  • M.A. in Instructional Technology (Virginia Tech, December, 2005)
    • Study in instructional design, adult learners
  • M.A. in Music Education (Case Western Reserve University, 1999)
    • Focus on instrumental conducting, wind ensemble; education certification
  • B.A. cum laude in Music (University of Rochester, 1996)
    • Music composition, conducting

It was clear that before anything else at keyboard that I was a natural composer. I could easily pick up tunes or TV show themes and figure them out by ear at the piano with little effort. I studied trombone, composition, conducting, and orchestration with amazing accomplished musicians at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY.

As a composer I have written and arranged extensive literature for trombone and trombone choir. I have also written a number of compositions for advanced wind ensemble, including Entrance, Passage, and Fugue, premiered by the University of Rochester Symphonic Winds. keenésa and Dynaride were composed while I was in grad school and the first was premiered by the Case Wind Ensemble and the latter was performed by the University Circle Wind Ensemble.

As a musician, I have extensive experience in conducting, specializing in wind ensembles and band. As a trombonist, I helped lead the Stingers trombone choir at the University of Rochester (1995-1996), where I gained experience in conducting, arranging, and writing a number of original compositions for trombone choir. While at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, I became one of the assistant conductors of the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony, and had the fortune of conducting that ensemble at Severance Hall, home to the Cleveland Orchestra.

I consider myself a lifelong learner and most of my knowledge about technology is self-learned, which is hard to document alongside formal degrees. As a college student, I designed the graphics for the first version of the University of Rochester website and it was then that I learned HTML.

I have been active in a number of professional organizations which have helped developed my own professional learning. These include:

  • Virginia Society for Technology in Education
  • Greater Richmond Area Educational Technology Consortium
  • International Society for Technology in Education
  • Virginia ASCD
  • MERC @ Virginia Commonwealth University