I was born in and grew up in rural Pennsylvania, so the arts have always been a smaller part of life, but as many did, I joined band class when given the opportunity and stuck with it until I graduated. I didn’t get into activities like festivals and competitions until later in my life, around my sophomore [10th grade] year. These activities changed my life, leading me to start composing and arranging. I’ve been doing this for four years, entering multiple state and regional competitions. I’ve also been commissioned numerous times to arrange various high school marching band stand tunes and shows. 

    Around this same time, I began playing the tuba. Despite only playing it for eight months, I was able to make it into the district level of festivals in PMEA, but I stopped there. The next year, I made it to the regional level. Then, despite not even having three years of experience on the instrument, I made it into the PMEA All-State Wind Ensemble in my senior year.

    This, along with my love for composing and arranging (and some trouble with college acceptance), made me realize that I wanted, and needed, music to become more than a hobby. I’d spent too much time and loved it too much to be a side project. So, I ultimately enrolled at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania as a Tuba Performance Major. This is current. I plan to make my living by being a professional tubist and to pour my heart into composing and arranging, as it’s what I find to be one of my favorite activities in the entire world.