I started piano at 5 years old enjoying it until later when, at 8 years old, after being introduced by my fourth grade teacher to the violin and enjoying elementary school orchestra, I switched to the violin.  Through junior high school, I was mostly self-taught, receiving occasional coaching from the orchestra teacher.  Despite an awkward audition with the San Jose Youth Symphony as a high school freshman, I was admitted on condition I take up private lessons. My high school senior year, I joined the California Youth Symphony (CYS), based in Palo Alto, CA.  My CYS stand partner and good friend to this day, Nori Tagawa -- son of banjo hall-of-famer Charlie Tagawa -- lent me some jazz records. Among them were jazz violinists Stephane Grappelli and Jean-Luc Ponty.  I was already a fan of Miles Davis; Grappelli and Ponty showed me musical directions I didn't know existed for violinists -- Jazz Violin

In the mid 1980's, I entered Santa Clara University as an engineering student and began violin and chamber music studies with Professor Dale King.  After earning my Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering, I continued studying with Dale King and was concertmaster of the Santa Clara University Orchestra for 8 more years. (By day, I was designing and building audio electronics circuits.)  I then pursued studies with Donna Lerew in Berkeley, CA and joined the Black Tie Jazz Orchestra. While working as a sound designer and programmer/engineer at Music Annex Recording Studios in Menlo Park, CA, I was a sideman on various recording sessions: cajun fiddle music for a children's audio book, for progressive rock band New Sun, for fado singer Ramana Vieira, and for punk band The Jingle Punx -- all this while maintaining my classical chops as concertmaster for the Santa Clara, CA-based Mission Chamber Orchestra. During this period, I worked on the popular toys "Tickle Me Elmo" and "Sing 'n Snore Ernie" holiday hits in 1996 and 1997.

I had already been performing in San Francisco venues with various bands since 2005. And in 2008, I moved to San Francisco from the Palo Alto area to be closer to the music scene. I now perform with Panique!, the Tipsy Gypsy Trio, the Golden Gate Hot Club, the Ramana Vieira Ensemble, and salsa band Oriente at venues like the Cliff House, the Freight and Salvage, Gallo Arts Center (Modesto, CA), the Climate Theatre, and others. I also have ongoing projects with jazz vocalist Carol Peters, jazz guitarist Michael McMorrow, and my partner, flautist Susan Wilkinson.

As I've gone deeper into jazz performance, I appreciate more the great masters of western classical music. I once naively thought that playing jazz was going to take me away from classical playing. Indeed, studying and learning jazz standards took time away from playing classical repertory. But what I learn from performing on, practicing, and imagining the violin in a jazz context helps my playing of all music.  And while I haven't played all the different musics found in the world, I've become sensitive to the their unique nuances and savor opportunities and collaborations with musicians to perform in styles yet to come my way. Have violin -- will travel!