It has been a pleasure to receive complimentary testimonials from clients, after I have performed for their  private party, event, or wedding! Here are a few recent ones that were posted on social media. Their words, not mine! 🙂

Bravo, David, for contributing to our firm’s Christmas party success! Your exceptional ability to read the room and make correct music choices, as well as happily taking requests, added a joie de vivre not to be forgotten…everyone kept asking me where I found you, and how much they were enjoying your music…you are a true professional in every aspect, as well as an exceptionally nice person.

David was the perfect addition to our party! He was engaging and entertaining as well as exceptionally talented. Our guests raved about how special it made the event.

What a pleasure it’s been this season to perform a wide range of music for weddings and corporate parties, and especially during the holiday season! It really keeps me on my toes: jazz, classical, pop, funk, rock, opera, swing, and honky tonk! I love getting those unexpected requests, for example a 20-something asking for a Sinatra tune… Getting follow-up inquiries for 2015 weddings and events, well, that’s a great pleasure, too– Happy holidays!

‘Tis the season for new productions of A 1940s Radio Christmas Carol, across the fruited plain (and in the U.K.)! The Old Creamery, in Iowa, has particularly nice photos of their production.

I got word today that I received an ASCAP Plus Award and decent cash for my original music in 2014. A nice perk for registering my works– Be good to your performance rights organization!

This Sunday evening, Nov. 9, come on by The Crown Pub to hear yours truly on keys and special guest, master fiddler Vi Wickam! No cover. Bring your appetite for good food, drink, and tasty duets of ragtime, blue grass, jazz and more!

The renowned Broadway lyricist once wrote (in a lyric), “…if you become a teacher, by your pupils you’ll be taught.” This past week, one of my adult piano students reminded me that a great way to refocus and re-energize one’s playing and musicality is to focus elsewhere! My student had hit a ‘wall’ on both a Beethoven and Bach piece. I sensed that her problem was not really technical, but rather a negative monologue she kept playing within herself: “I’m not good enough; I’m going to make a mistake; my teacher is evaluating everything, etc.” We’ve all experienced this! So, without thinking (clue #1), I had her put away the literature, and I pulled out some fairly easy 4-hand duets for us to play. Immediately, her breathing relaxed, the joy of playing returned, and so did her rhythm and musicality! After about a 1/2 hour of sight-reading these charming pieces, we returned to the Beethoven and Bach works, and in 15 minutes we accomplished with them what may not have happened in an hour! Dear student: Thank you for the happy reminder and enjoyable lesson!

The NYC Independent Film Festival will screen “My Name is Oscar,” a short film for which I composed the music. The film will also be screened at the Montenegro Short Film Festival, in 2015.

The next couple of days has a lot of musical variety! I continue to enjoy playing for ballet classes at Colorado State University, where I get to perform standard repertory as well as improvise on classical, romantic, and impressionistic genres for the dancers. After today’s ballet class, I will perform jazz, pop, and classical for the wonderful folks at Rigden Farms Senior Living– always a fun and attentive audience! This Saturday evening at the Broadmoor, it will be light classical, jazz, and pop for a corporate gig. On Sunday, at Colorado Sound Studios, we are recording a delightful young girl singing our new ballad for Uncle Jed’s Barbershop– we feel good about this one!

One of my fantastic teen students, 13 year old Matan Birnbaum, rocked the radio with singing and piano playing! I’m really proud of Matan for demonstrating his poise and for using what he’s learned in our improvisation lessons– Way to go, dude! He was joined by 14 year-old Grady on KCSU 90.5 FM with Vincent Burkhardt from KRFC 88.9 FM. They recently performed a fundraiser for Sustainable Schools International.