Hometown:

Dayton, OH

Year you joined the Grant Park Music Festival:

1984

Where did you study?

Ohio State University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, New College Summer Music Festival (Sarasota, FL), Tanglewood

Career highlight:

Hard to choose one, but playing the John Williams “Concerto for Tuba” with the Grant Park Orchestra in conjunction with the International Tuba and Euphonium Conference at Northwestern U. would be one.

What are you listening to right now?

Mahler, Rex Martin tuba CD, Nielson’s 4th Symphony, Billie Holiday

Who is your all-time favorite performer?

Jim Morrison of The Doors—although Arnold Jacobs, former tubist of the Chicago Symphony, would be a close 2nd

Signature dish?

Eggplant parmesan

Can you share any memorable stories from your experience with the Grant Park Orchestra?

So many! The invasion of flying bugs at our old Petrillo Shell that forced our concert to be shortened because we were inhaling them with each breath would be definitely be one. Playing an outstanding Mahler 5th Symphony for about 2 dozen determined fans after a downpour at the Petrillo with former Principal Conductor Zdenek Macal is another. Perhaps the most thrilling was when my minivan blew its transmission on LSD on my way to a concert and the ensuing inability of AAA to get a tow truck to me led me to realize the only way to get to the concert in time was to jump on my bicycle that I happened to have in my vehicle, arriving moments before the downbeat of a challenging Berlioz overture; getting sufficient inhalations to play the music until my heart rate lowered was interesting!

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