Category Archives: Inspiration

Recounting what moved me towards a life and career in music.

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The Goldberg Project

Aria

It’s January 1st, 2026 and this year I’m going to aim to record as many Goldberg Variations as possible as a fun personal project. I will add them to this blog post as I complete them. To watch a continued playlist of all the variations on YouTube please click here. Please enjoy the beautiful opening Aria from this wonderful collection by J.S. Bach!

Variation 1

This one is so much fun to play. It races out of the gate after the slow and contemplative Sarabande that is the Aria. I find it quite challenging to keep the steadiness of the 16ths as the motives switch between hands so quickly. The hand crossings at the bottom of the first page have needed extra work. My favourite aspect of this variation is the thumping bassline Bach gives us, especially at the top of page 2.

What’s interesting about Bach’s Goldberg Variations is that they are a variation on harmonic structure as opposed to melodic variations which is traditionally what most composers do. So the Aria establishes the basic chords and each variation mostly adheres to the same choice of chords while texturally changing on the surface.

Variation 2

A light and steady march to balance the more-intense first variation. I’m probably going to say this over and over again but it was incredibly challenging to put together. As with playing Mozart, Bach takes no prisoners in that this music is so transparent that unwanted accents, uneven passages, or anything shaky stand out like (no pun intended) a sore thumb. The LH has a steady eighth note pulse while the RH balances a conversation between two voices. I’m learning to play without pedal which leads to lots of finger substitutions and different fingerings than I’m used to. That said, it’s upbeat tick-tock character makes it so fun to play. I especially enjoy the passage near the end when each RH voice holds a quarter note while the other plays 16ths.

Variation 3

Variation 3 is the first of what will be a canon every 3rd variation. I continue to marvel at his genius; to make a canon on every interval up to the 9th while continuing to maintain the same harmonic structure throughout and make each one stylistically unique… 🤯 The two main challenges in this variation for me were showing the independent voices in the right hand and maintaining steadiness and breathing in the continuo left hand part.

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Triumphant Minuet

I’ve been working my way through the RCM Harmony books. Much of the information is review but some of it is also new; I never had this amount of time to study theory in depth when I was a busy undergrad many years ago. After all this theory I thought why not try and apply it? So I sketched up this little minuet and was pleased with myself for composing something that at least resembles one of the many minuets I’ve heard or played throughout my life written by those old dead white guys.

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So Long 2018!

Photography has continued to be a stimulating and challenging hobby this year. It’s nice to indulge in something that isn’t music as much as I like it. I’m realizing that this is may become a tradition. I’ve taken a very select group of photos and put them together as a slide show accompanied by the aria and first variation of the Goldbergs which I recorded in June.

This year has been a very positive one for me. My studio has been thriving. We had our first performance in a new space because there are just too many of us! I wish everyone a safe and happy new year!

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Sonata Deformed: An Injured Musician’s Chronicle Pt.3

These entries are written for musicians who have faced injury. Injury not only strikes our bodies but our identities too. By sharing my story I hope that other hurt musicians will feel part of an increasingly vocal community and will be motivated to seek the tools necessary to heal and flourish again at their craft. I believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel for every musician facing injury. Yet there is no magic wand. It’s up to you to be the expert in your own recovery process.

Disclaimer: Any information here regarding the avoidance and treatment of injury is for educational purposes only. All injuries should be assessed and treated by a qualified medical professional before attempting to solve the problem at the keyboard.

The story continues in the third instalment. If you’ve been waiting for the good news then wait no longer. For those who are just discovering this chronicle, please read part 1 and part 2.

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Sonata Deformed: An Injured Musician’s Chronicle Pt.2

These entries are written for musicians who have faced injury. Injury not only strikes our bodies but our identities too. By sharing my story I hope that other hurt musicians will feel part of an increasingly vocal community and will be motivated to seek the tools necessary to heal and flourish again at their craft. I believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel for every musician facing injury. Yet there is no magic wand. It’s up to you to be the expert in your own recovery process.

Disclaimer: Any information here regarding the avoidance and treatment of injury is for educational purposes only. All injuries should be assessed and treated by a qualified medical professional before attempting to solve the problem at the keyboard.

The story of my eight year journey continues in this next instalment. If you aren’t caught up please read Part 1: Exposition.

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Sonata Deformed: An Injured Musician’s Chronicle Pt.1

These entries are written for musicians who have faced injury. Injury not only strikes our bodies but our identities too. By sharing my story I hope that other hurt musicians will feel part of an increasingly vocal community and will be motivated to seek the tools necessary to heal and flourish again at their craft. I believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel for every musician facing injury. Yet there is no magic wand. It’s up to you to be the expert in your own recovery process.

Disclaimer: Any information here regarding the avoidance and treatment of injury is for educational purposes only. All injuries should be assessed and treated by a qualified medical professional before attempting to solve the problem at the keyboard.

This story is an eight year journey chronicling my personal experience as a pianist with severe injury in my hands. It begins with my life as a confident professional pianist who had the rug pulled out from under him via a debilitating injury. I suffered for many years thinking that I’d never play again, but through perseverance and the proper guidance I rebuilt my technique and am able to end the story on a positive note as I now play music I never thought possible. It’s much easier to write this from the other side of my journey. These are the words that I needed to hear when in the depths of despair and uncertainty. Perhaps you need to hear them too.

If you are an injured musician of any kind may my story be a source of hope and inspiration. I encourage dialogue about this often taboo topic so please share your stories in the comments section below.

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2017 A Year in Pictures

As some of you may know, one of my hobbies is photography. This past year was a major period of growth and experience in this endeavour. I upgraded from a smart phone to a real-deal camera; learned about lenses and techniques; and became an Instagram addict. Photography has been a healthy balance to my music. It certainly involves a lot more walking around. To cap off 2017 I thought, what better idea than to combine the two!

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Music in Turbulent Times

Unless you live on a deserted island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean you will be well aware of recent developments in American politics. I’ve been struggling to figure out what to make of it all. As a left-leaning, liberal artist it’s obvious how I’m reacting. Indeed, most of the people in my circle feel the same way. We share a collective anxiety about the future. A downside of being creative is that my imagination is on steroids most of the time. All that said, that’s not what I’m writing about today. The past 48 hours have reaffirmed for me why I do what I do.

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How I “Accidentally” Became a University Music Student

They say that life never moves in a straight line. Although I’ve always been an industrious student, I’ve never really had a clear sense about where I was going when it came to a career. At one point in time I wanted to become a pilot, I even did the ground school for it. But for some reason that, like many things, never materialized. In my final year of high school it came time to decide what to do next.

Of course, there was always music. I had played piano most of my life, and when I wasn’t Continue reading →