At age 17 he left to study flute and composition in Boston at the Berklee School of Music after which he moved to New York City, where he recorded and performed with his band FluteJuice featuring Bill Frisell, Billy Hart, Kenny Werner, and Hank Roberts among many others.
He also recorded and released the album Waterlilies with Brazilian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos and guitar virtuoso Bill Connors.
Before embarking on his film scoring career he conducted and recorded his suite "Master Harold and the Boys" with the London Symphony Orchestra which was based on Athol Fugard's apartheid era play of the same name.
He recently wrote and produced the song "On Ghost Ridge" for the documentary 100 Years: One Woman's Fight for Justice chronicling the epic battle between Blackfoot Indian Elouise Cobell and the US government.
The song was performed by Malaysian pop star Yuna and was submitted for an Academy Award Nomination.