Composer, Performer, Violinist, and Band-Leader. Earned a doctorate in musical composition from the University of Michigan. Received his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music. Attended Dillard Center for the Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Combines his classical music roots with a multicolored spectrum of contemporary black popular music. Currently Institute Professor of Practice at Arizona State University. Music Director of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and the Assistant Composer-in-Residence of the OSL. Serves on the board of directors of the League of American Orchestras, Association of Performing Arts Presenters and Creative Capital, the advisory committee of the Sphinx Organization, and was co-chair of 2015 and 2016 APAP Conferences.
