welcome, holy brothers and sisters —
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: It may be my Esther (4:14) moment to take my gift (as an award-winning educator/songwriter) for making the complex simple but not simplistic and apply it to my atypical Jewish path (which, after almost becoming unaffiliated as a young adult, went on to include most of my learning and lived experience in 5 denominations). So now I’m well-positioned to share Jewish text/values/culture in accessible engaging ways not just for Jewish audiences of any background but also for non-Jewish audiences. Based in El Paso since 2004, I love offering tailored bridge-building classes/workshops or concerts where I strap on my acoustic guitar and share my music followed by Q&A/dialogue to make bridges of mind, spirit, and heart that yield more understanding and empathy.
my latest (Jewish) album Sparks (browse microsummaries or a more detailed album website):
- 4-time Finalist (Album of the Year, Best Bluegrass Song, Best Humorous Song (winner!), and Best Religious Song) at the 2021 New Mexico Music Awards, a statewide GRAMMY-style competition; also, Semifinalist in the International Songwriting Competition
- songs are highly original, non-liturgical, and non-denominational with lyrics virtually all in English
- critical praise from national artists, journalists, authors, educators, clergy
- sparked by Nance Pettit and David Wilcox’s interfaith album of mystical wisdom, my album features musicians spanning Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — an “Abraham jam” showing we’re far more similar than different
my singer-songwriter background:
- I write Jewish songs, contemporary folk songs, and math songs – with 26+ songs (spanning all 3 types) airing on TV/radio and 30+ song awards (spanning all 3 types) such as first place in the National Museum of Mathematics’ Pi Day of the Century song contest!
- my 4+ decades of songwriting have yielded 130+ published lyrics/songs, including 33 songs recorded on 4 other artists’ albums (e.g., “Healing Song“) or on my own albums
- performed at national conferences, statewide music award nights, regional festivals, community events, etc.; have also opened for diverse nationally-touring artists (e.g., Chava Mirel, Beth Hamon, Roy Zimmerman, Charlie King & Karen Brandow) and here’s a clip from my opening for Opera UTEP; my live performances include some humor (e.g., “Spiritual Not Religious” and “The Bark Mitzvah Song“)
- interviewer, reviewer, letter-writer, parodist in national music periodicals (e.g., Songwriter’s Musepaper, Sing Out!, Performing Songwriter, Acoustic Guitar)
my educator/speaker/author background:
- 3+ decades of full-time college and high school teaching experience yielded several major national/state awards and I’ve won National Science Foundation funding to create interactive educational songs
- 200+ (inter)national talks include conference keynote performances as well as sessions sponsored by Folk Alliance International, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum, etc.
- my 130+ peer reviewed papers in national education journals include a dozen specifically on music/song and several that connect Judaism to music or math (e.g., the infinite)
selected experience with diverse religion programs/spaces:
- performed my songs for a university Religious Studies program and for houses of worship (services, concerts, festivals, etc., often connecting to events or the weekly scripture reading)
- lived experience in 5 denominations of Judaism, co-presenter with clergy or musicians from several Jewish denominations as well as from outside Judaism (e.g., Episcopal priest Father Jon Hall)
- speaking for broad audiences on varied Jewish topics, including Hanukkah on an NPR radio station, Crypto-Jews on an iHEART podcast, and parables/fables for an Opera UTEP panel
- performed my songs about Israel and its complexities, such as “Break” (in a recital hall with Middle Eastern music ensemble Layali Al-Sham, which included some members of Arab/Muslim background) and “Sderot Sky” (for the Cantors Assembly); while writing/hearing these songs take more effort, they are important for understanding the tiny country holding the physical origin of Judaism and Christianity as well as the third holiest place in Islam