SD Voyager Interview

In 2025 I had the great opportunity to be interviewed for the SD Voyager and they wanted to hear about my music publishing pursuit and a bit about how I made the move to Music Composer and Educator. Below are some segments of the interview! Thanks to SD Voyager for the opportunity!

Where I started with music:

"I started playing the clarinet in 6th grade and I was hooked! I had never really considered band or music as something that would interest me especially since I came from a very non-musical family with the exception of my grandfather who played the trumpet at church while I was a child. It was just fun. I didn’t do many school activities and just spent my time outside of school playing with my friends. I ended up switching to the trumpet in 7th grade because my best friend at the time was playing the trumpet and I remembered my grandfather playing it growing up. I also thought it was just cooler. Only three buttons!" SD Voyager 2025

First step into publishing:

"One of the pinnacle moments along my music journey was while I was in the Marine Corps. I had the fortunate opportunity to meet one of my favorite composers at the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina concert performed by Marine Band New Orleans in 2015. He came to watch us perform a piece he had composed as a commemorative reflection on the devastation and revival of New Orleans after the disaster. I always make it a point to talk to composers and ask for tips and pick their brains so I can learn from the best! Well, I did just that and I told him about my experiences so far and he had asked me to send him some of my work to take a look at and I expected some commentary telling me what I could do better but what I received back was something completely unexpected. He wanted to publish one of the pieces I sent to him!" SD Voyager 2025

Thanks to Robert W. Smith:

"Robert W. Smith was and is still a role model for me as a composer far before I met him. I enjoyed listening to his music and had performed a bunch of his works throughout the years. He brought me into his company and showed me the business side of composing and publishing and we had many conversations about balancing life and composing. He unfortunately passed away a few years ago which was a huge hit on the band world as he made such an impact on the music education industry through his hundreds of compositions and time as an educator at so many levels. Definitely someone who gave everything to the world of music." SD Voyager 2025

Feel free to check out the full article at the link below!

LINK TO FULL SD VOYAGER ARTICLE