[1] His father and mother were sculptors and painters from Eastern Europe; he himself has worked in sculpture and was active in the "performance art" movement in New York's Soho district.
He attended Oberlin College, The Juilliard School, the University of Illinois, and the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome as a Fulbright scholar.
His Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra (Jack and the Beanstalk) was nominated for the 1990 Pulitzer Prize by the National Symphony.
He has performed throughout the world, including joining the International Orchestra formed by Leonard Bernstein in 1989 as the Berlin wall was coming down.
He is an outspoken environmental advocate and wilderness mountaineer who has led climbing expeditions into the Canadian Rockies, Alaska, and the Himalayas.