2025 was an amazing year.
Writing
I published a new post on this site every day in 2024, totaling 366 posts (somehow I published two on August 1).
I wrote over 55,000 words written for my blog this year; That averages around 4,800 a month or around 150 per day, or a little less when you factor out a few longer posts. That matches my goal – an easily and quickly readable post.
My goal remains to publish a post every day under three main tentpoles: education, vocal music, and creativity. Almost everything I write pertains to one of the three. Every post from the last five years is categorized to make it easier to search for topics. In total I now have over 800,000 words on the site.
Composing/Arranging
I completed three vocal jazz arrangements for Shades of Blue this year: “Bijou” for SATB + rhythm section (a la Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross), “I’ve Got A Crush On You” for SATB+Big Band, and “Do” by Lawrence for SATB+Big Band. Watch for all three in print soon!
I completed two new original choral works this year – The Crystal Gazer for SSA choir, piano, and violin and The New Colossus for SATB divisi a cappella choir. The Crystal Gazer was premiered in the spring by the Grandville Middle School Choir and Rachel Niewiada. The New Colossus was newly composed for a composition competition.
Rockford Choirs did a 1960’s-themed Cabaret this year. I wrote 44 band arrangements (bass/drums/guitar). I wrote them all in 6 days. I always love working with wonderful musician friends as bandleader for this event, and making some great music with great students.
I’m blessed to be able to stay busy writing music I’m excited about. If you’re interested in commissioning something in 2026 or beyond, now’s the time to hit me up!
Conducting
The Rockford Aces are now in their 18th year. They continue to inspire me with their enthusiasm, their musicality, and their potential. We have finished recording our seventh album, which will be released this spring. In 2025 we premiered a new composition we commissioned from Tim Brent, entitled “Can You Hear My Song?” We are working on our next commission right now. They also premiered and will record my transcription of The Arbors’ version of “Over The Rainbow.”
I am now in my ninth year directing GRCC Shades of Blue. We recorded another album this summer, which will be released into the world soon, I hope. They sang the national anthem and alma mater at GRCC Commencement for the second year in a row, and had successful concerts throughout the year.
I also guest conducted with the Grand Rapids Symphony, preparing the chorus for a concert of Hans Zimmer film scores. It was a treat to be back with the symphony for the first time since 2020.
Professional Growth
I’m still beyond thrilled with how Jazz Theory For Choral Musicians came out. It’s a 2024 completion but you don’t have a copy yet, do you? Pick one up. It’s good.
I took the lead on organization for our biannual Rockford Choirs international performance tour. Our travels brought us to Croatia and Italy with 45 singers and 98 total travelers. What a privilege to sing and conduct (including my own music) in historic spaces and places, including in St. Peter’s Basilica, where we received a workshop with the Vatican’s Maestro di Cappella and then presented 20 minutes of music at the main altar. We have released an album (I engineered it) on streaming services, Live in Sorrento.
I continue to serve MSVMA as Supervisor of the All-State Jazz Choir. We had a fantastic ensemble in January, 2025 under my dear friend, Dr. Jeremy Fox. Right now we’re about 4 weeks out from the 2026 ensemble, directed by the amazing Rosana Eckert. We continue to show growth with number of schools participating, number of students auditioning, and skill of student participant. I’m excited to see this activity to continue to grow and flourish with the support of MSVMA.
In addition to conducting Shades of Blue, I continue to teach applied lessons at GRCC – I have been teaching jazz voice, jazz piano and composition. I taught an Aural Comprehension class for the first time this year, and I have been helping out in the theater department, teaching the sound unit of a technical theater class. I teach Jazz Theory most winter semesters, a thrill for me to expose students to new ways of thinking about theory.
I am proud to be published with many fantastic independent publishers, including Anchor Music, UNC Jazz Press, Pavane, and at Sheet Music Plus. I published a lot of my writing via ArrangeMe this year – there are now more than 20 of my arrangements for sale there.
The Michigan Choral Commission Consortium is on hiatus this school year as I reassess how to give it the time it deserves in my busy schedule. I deeply miss supporting my Michigan choral community in that way.
Every day I am looking for more and better ways to give back to my professional community – with my time, with my attention, and with my words. If you have an idea for a project we could work together on to make the choral community stronger, please contact me!
Personal Growth
I baked around 65 loaves of bread in 2025, and hardly a week went by without some of our family staples: homemade pizza, pancakes, waffles, focaccia…. Cooking and baking remain outlets for me to clear my head of music, and a tangible way to express my love for family and friends.
I completed my third year as Scoutmaster and watched the troop grow in numbers and skills. I spent several weeks camping over the course of the year, including a week at Summer Camp and a trip to Mammoth Cave National Park. Along with the All-State Jazz Choir, Scouting represents my primary form of volunteerism; I figure I spend well over 1,000 hours per year volunteering with Scouting.
I read 15 books in 2025. I find it hard to carve out as much time for reading as I want to, but am also mindful that I read a lot more than many. It fills my spirit.
I can’t imagine doing any of what I’m doing without my amazing partner, Mandy. She inspires and motivates me, is my first and most trusted editor and confidant, and makes everything I do better. We celebrated our 23rd anniversary this year, and it just keeps getting better. Our family continues to flourish, with our oldest now living and working on the West Coast in his chosen profession of entertainment lighting and production.
My life is full in the best possible ways, and on the horizon I see possibilities I couldn’t have dreamed even a few years ago. Every day I try to do the best I can at the job in front of me, and on most days I see positive change.