Tenor
Seasons With Chorale: 7
Season Joined: 2010-11
Hometown: Fullerton
Education/Training:
CSU Dominguez Hills: B.A. Digital Media Arts in Recording Engineering, minor in Digital Graphics; IT Certifications: Apple Certified Technical Coordinator & Macintosh Technician, Jamf Certified Casper Administrator; Music education: childhood piano lessons / music theory. Participation in concert choir from 5th grade through college. One semester of opera at Pasadena City College. Various coaching sessions as needed.
Do you also have a non-singing "day job"? If so, what do you do?
I am a systems administrator for one of the world's largest media conglomerates. Our team of 14 engineers and analysts is responsible for managing all of the PCs and Macs throughout the company (about 40,000 systems).
Where else do you teach/gig/conduct/sing/perform?
During the Jewish High Holy Days, I'm in a 6-man a cappella choir + cantor combo that has been hired by the same congregation for 5 years running.
Guest appearances:
April 2012: title role in "The Passion of Dietrich Bonhoeffer," Chaminade College Preparatory, Canoga Park; June 2012: fundraising concert for Los Robles Master Chorale, Church of the Epiphany, Oak Park; December 2012: Solo recital at the Guatemalan Association of Authors and Composers (AGAYC).
Recording/TV/Film:
2017: SAG/AFTRA studio choir for Transformers: The Last Knight; 2016: SAG/AFTRA studio choir for X-Men: Apocalypse; 2015: Frank Zappa's 200 Motels with LA Philharmonic; 2014: Verdi Requiem with LA Master Chorale & LA Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel; 2012: Górecki Miserere, Los Angeles Master Chorale; 2008: The Road Home, Angel City Chorale (soloist);
Highlights of your musical career:
Memorable performances: the Mahler 8th Symphony at the Shrine Auditorium with 1,000+ singers and two full orchestras; Frank Zappa's 200 Motels at Walt Disney Concert Hall with LA Philharmonic; Tan-Dun's Water Passion at the Ravinia music festival.
Favorite choral work(s):
Eric Whitacre's Cloudburst; Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers; the Mozart Requiem (2010 Levin edition); anything by Shawn Kirchner.
A defining moment of favorite LA Master Chorale onstage experience:
On March 28, 2014, just five minutes into Daphnis and Chloe with LA Philharmonic, an earthquake shook Walt Disney Concert Hall. As they say, "the show must go on!" -- we sang and played right through the rumbling and rattling that lasted nearly two minutes.
What are you listening to these days?
Anything and everything. Albums frequently played as of January 2017: Blackstar by David Bowie; A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead; the Hamilton Soundtrack and Hamilton Mixtape by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
I have recently taken up collecting pocket watches and wristwatches. In my spare time I like to work on cars and tune pianos. I am an Eagle Scout (1999), and have volunteered many times as a crowd marshal for spectator sports like the 2002 Winter Olympics, and the Sno-Drift road rallies of 2006 & 2017. I speak German and Spanish. The farthest country I've ever visited is South Africa.
Where do you live in L.A.?
Burbank
What L.A. experience do you consider essential for visitors/newcomers?
#1: The Farmer's Market / The Grove shopping center; #2: The Griffith Observatory.