His primary teachers include Daniel S. Godfrey, Andrew Waggoner, and Malcolm Peyton. In addition, he has studied with Ivan Fedele at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg in France. He graduated cum laude with a BA in Music Composition from Syracuse University in NY, and was the recipient there of the Brian Israel Award in 2008 for outstanding composer. In 2008, he was the winner of the Buffalo (NY) Philharmonic Orchestra Composer’s Forum and his work was read and recorded by that orchestra.