Origin

I was born in Putnam, Connecticut, USA. While I started on the piano at age five at my mother’s encouragement, I was truly allured by the sax lead on songs like “Who Can It Be Now?” by Men At Work, so I took up saxophone in fifth grade. I never did figure out how to get that signature growl, but I was an enthusiastic saxophonist throughout middle school and high school, playing in concert band, marching band, jazz band, and pep band. As a senior in high school, it was suggested that I might try singing in the chorus, which was the doorway to another world of expression and contradiction. I took pride in my unique voice, which extended lower than the other basses. I also took lessons with the hope that I could become a tenor. While all that was happening, I was introduced to dazzling pieces by Chopin, Debussy, and Rachmaninoff, rekindling my interest in piano.

I went to Providence College intending to follow in my sister’s footsteps studying chemistry, but couldn’t stay away from the music building. I sang in various choral groups, played piano in the jazz band, played sax in student bands with names like Candy Bass and Wiggler, and fell short in my ability to play Chopin, Debussy, and Rachmaninoff for an audience. I graduated with a music degree in vocal performance in 1998, and had the distinction of co-establishing PC’s first student-led a cappella group, Special Guest.