[1] Another of his earliest musical engagements was as conductor of a pit orchestra at the Six Flags Over Georgia amusement park.
[2] He studied piano and conducting at the Manhattan School of Music, where his teachers included Anton Coppola and George Schick.
In parallel with this appointment, the Juilliard School awarded him a fellowship as Assistant Conductor with the American Opera Center.
During his Richmond tenure, the orchestra received five ASCAP awards for "Adventuresome Programming of Contemporary Music".
[4] He has since returned regularly to Santa Fe Opera, where his subsequent appearances have included conducting the world premiere of Tobias Picker's and J.D.
[11] Other work in contemporary music has included conducting the world premiere of Terence Blanchard's and Michael Cristofer's Champion.