• I mentioned earlier in my Home Page a long standing desire to focus on two passions, travel and music. Whenever I was able to combine these two in one single pursuit or activity, I felt that I was satisfying both needs. In the field of ethnic music, this was often the case.

Performances With a Foreign Flair

• Various types of ensembles in Italy, France, Switzerland, Greece, Hungary, Austria
• At a resort restaurant on the shores of Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, I had the opportunity to perform many times with Tonino, an Italian accordion player based in Switzerland.
• In a wine cellar, at a French winery in the Alsace, I performed on several occasions with two French accordion players

Other Musically Related Experiences:

• One of the most rewarding periods in my musical career involved the research and preparation of my Masters' thesis entitled, A System of Thai Notation. For this project I worked initially with several native Thai music teachers at the Thai temple in Berkeley, CA. In 1990 and 1991 I made two trips to Thailand and attended and observed music teaching in the Thai idiom at Bansomedetchaopraya Teacher's College outside of Bangkok. I had developed some facility with the Thai language, and improved my language skills substantially while researching my chosen topic.

Exotic instruments I've become interested in, acquired, and, in some cases, performed on:
• Numerous bamboo flutes
• Thai kaen
• Thai pee nai
• Bulgarian kaval
• Middle Eastern doumbec (drum)
• Latin Bongo drums

Non-musical Related Tidbits:

Languages I've Worked On And Used In Music and Travel:
• German
• French
• Thai
• Spanish/Portuguese