Hi everyone.  I grew up in Boston Massachusetts in a musical family.  My mother was a church pianist and organist and my father first made his living as a chemist and later worked his way up leadership positions with the Mead Corporation.  I started piano at a young age and started into the viola in 4th grade through my school orchestra program.  My teachers, Mr. Bassett and Ms. Marden influenced me greatly.  I moved to Chillicothe Ohio when I was in 8th grade and continued in music.  I enjoyed sports more than music in those days and played Baseball and Basketball.  A bout with Mono in HS wrecked a season of basketball for me and pushed me heavily into music.  After that, I was involved in as much music as I could find.  I played in Orchestra, Jazz Band, Marching Band, and Show Choir while at Chillicothe High School.  I started learning as many instruments as I could, from percussion to guitar, bass, violin, cello and anything with strings I could get a hold of.  After graduating from high school my family moved to the Dayton area and I started at Miami University as a business Major.  After two years in business I was ready to leave attempt a life as a performing musician somewhere.  I had been performing with some friends regionally and loving it. My parents convinced me to audition for Miami's Music Department and I was accepted.  A career in the classroom started to look more realistic. After completing a Bachelor of music degree and a year of graduate school I started my first teaching job with orchestra in the Fairborn City Schools.  It was a wonderful time.  I worked for 12 years in Fairborn when I ran into my fraternity brother and Fairmont Band director in Meijer and he let me know Kettering had a recent Orchestra Position open up.  I moved into Kettering years earlier to get my kids in this wonderful district.  I was so fortunate to land here in Kettering and worked with the most wonderful staff, students, and community I could ever imagine. I finished my Masters Degree in Educational Leadership from Wright State University. I have been married to my "Miami Merger" and best friend Julie for 23 years.  She is a talented social worker and counselor who does heroic work with kids with some significant needs.  I have three amazing kids, Joseph, 23, a computer engineer. who plays cellos and sings beautifully, Christine, a junior at Wright State University majoring in Education.  She is a viola playing, singing, field hockey playing joy.  Our youngest, Elizabeth, is 15 years old and is a 10th grade violinist at Fairmont High School. My free time is spent doing music.  I played for 15 years in the Springfield Symphony Orchestra and helped in some of their educational programs.  I have been a church musician my whole life and currently work at Peace Lutheran Church in Beavercreek Ohio on the weekends.  I love my job, the Kettering Community, and the Kettering City Schools!