THE PIANIST
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CARNEGIE HALL DEBUT
It may sound strange to say but Carnegie Hall was never a dream of mine. That's because I put on the same level as saying I wanted to travel to Mars - possible but improbable. I am still in awe that this day came. And now I want more.
BAHAMAS RECITAL DEBUT - THE AFTERMATH
This event was the first ever recital I ever gave in the Bahamas. Holding my hands in this picture was the closest person I ever had to a mentor - Audrey Dean-Wright.
SMILE!
I am determined in this high-stakes, high-stress profession to have fun. Photo credits to friend and colleague Wasin Prasertlap.
BRINGING IN THE NEW YEAR
2019 came in with me doing something I'd never done before, a photoshoot - with changes in attire and makeup to boot. Photo credits to His Image Photography.
THE COLLABORATOR
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CHAMBER COMPETITION
My experience in Hungary was phenomenal at the Crescendo Music Festival. The applause from this performance still rings in my ears. Never before or since have I experienced 4 curtain calls.
PLAYING WITH THE BAHAMAS' FINEST
Lee Callender is one of the finest musicians, coaches and arrangers in our nation's history. Here we are having a ball with his arrangement of 'Who Dat' for four-hands. This was on the occasion of the 'Celebration of Bahamian Composers' produced by soprano Joann Callender.
C'EST MAGNIFIQUE!
This was my first trip to Canada and Montreal is such an amazing city. It's humbling to count as friends some of the world's best young musicians. This is after the concert in the most beautiful space I've ever performed in.
STARSTRUCK! JUST ANOTHER DAY AT PEABODY
I don't even remember taking this picture, what I said or what she said. It's all a black hole for me :) What I do know is that 3 years later, I was under her artistic direction as the pianist in the Smithsonian commissioned opera "Qadar." Denyce Graves is an amazing artist and an even better person.
THE GREAT AMERICAN SOPRANO
It's beyond amazing and terrifing when one of the world's finest sopranos joins in the choir warmups you're leading! This was on the occassion of the Baltimore Symphony's Season Opening Gala Concert featuring Renee Fleming and yours truly conducting the OrchKids choir.
A PERFECT MOMENT IN TIME!
Mr. Kendrick Colby and I doing double duty on "Make Me an Instrument" with the Highgrove Singers in Nassau, Bahamas.
THE RESEARCHER
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MUNDANE DRUDGERY AND EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERIES
So in order to fund my doctoral studies, I spent 20 hrs a week for the better part of 3 years in the piano maintenance department at my university. It was hard, physical and mental work and I suffered a serious injury from the job. But I didn't know that this work would be the foundation of my professional life as a researcher.
DR. JAE KUN SHIM - THE MOST CHILL KOREAN I'VE EVER MET!
And I say that with the utmost respect for his scholarship and professionalism:) Besides being a hand neuromechanics specialist in my UMD's Kinesiology Department, Professor Shim been a mentor in my interdisciplinary research aspirations. I owe much of my dissertation work to his meticulous guidance.
THE PRODUCER
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MY ANSWER TO IMPROVING ARTS APPRECIATION
It is a curiosity that in this age of instantaneous access to arts experiences that the artistic appetite of audiences has become increasingly less diverse. The "Adventures in the Arts" production was my creative solution to shifting this dynamic through combining performing and visual arts in unique ways.
THE EDUCATOR
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ORCHKIDS CHOIR CONCERT
The OrchKids program is transforming the lives of thousands of children and youth within inner city Baltimore. I remain humbled by the opportunity to serve some 120 of them as a choral director. Here is a fraction of them presenting everything from Latin to gospel.
STRING EM UP!
As a master's student my focus was string education. And for my master's thesis, I proved how one could use the traditional music of a community has a basis for building string technique. Here is a workshop in the Bahamas being lead by colleagues from Peabody.
ARTS AS A TRANSFORMATIVE TOOL
I believe one of the best things we can do as artists is to share with communities how our artistry transforms the way we think and act. Here were are at a public high school in the Bahamas inspiring the next generation.
MUSIC AND MOVEMENT
I am not a believer in the philosophy that music is a cerebral and emotive experience only. Music should also inspire movement for it is movement that instrumentalist use to produce sound. HereI am with the OrchKids of West Baltimore demonstrating this for a riveted audience.