CURRENT MISSION
Music, experience, adventure

ABOUT ME
Currently based in Dresden. I've spent a lot of time traveling throughout Europe for performances of my music at a few different festivals, lived in Germany for 10 months, Switzerland for 5 months, and Norway for 3 for residencies and fellowships. I'm typically on the road about 3-4 months out of the year (used to be 7-8). I did quite a lot of couchsurfing and hitchhiking back in 2010-11 through Amsterdam, Brussels, Luxembourg, Bratislava, Budapest, Kosice, Krakow, Prague, Leipzig, and again in 2012 between courses in Paris and Darmstadt for several weeks all over Holland, Italy, France, Germany, and Hungary. I love couchsurfing, and although I typically don't have a lot of time during the academic year, I am usually quite active during the summers.

I keep very busy with my work as a composer, which is also the reason I travel frequently for performances. I'm originally from the SF Bay Area in California but have lived all over.

PHILOSOPHY
In the last few years, I have been reassessing my philosophical and aesthetic values. Living abroad and my couchsurfing/hitchhiking adventures throughout Europe completely changed my life, and I am continually working towards finding myself as a composer and as a human being. I am striving to make every second count, embrace spontaneity, re-evaluate any reservations, seek knowledge, and observe the potential beauty in everything that exists.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING
I can host surfers in Germany whenever I am available. I used to participate in the Tandem-language forums, seek hitchhiking/adventure partners, and visit with CSers all over Europe!! Always happy to grab coffee with interesting people. Currently living in Dresden.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE
Belgium (Brussels, Antwerp)
Czech Republic (Prague)
Denmark (Copenhagen)
France (Paris, Marseille, Nice, Saint-Martin-d'Heres)
Germany (Berlin, Erfurt, Essen, Hamburg, Darmstadt, Leipzig)
Hungary (Budapest)
Israel (Tel Aviv)
Italy (Milan, Torino, Napoli, Corato, Genoa, Trieste, Padua, Venice, elsewhere)
Luxembourg
Netherlands (Amsterdam, Den Haag, Rotterdam, Utrecht)
Norway (Oslo, Bergen)
Poland (Krakov)
Slovakia (Bratislava, Kosice)
Switzerland (Geneva)
U.S. (NYC, Tempe, Chicago, Tivoli, Cleveland, elsewhere)

Hosted:
Kasey and Scott from Indiana on a tandem ride in Hudson (Sep. 2014)
Alexander in Rochester (Feb. 2012)
Elke in Hamburg (May 2011)
Christine in Hamburg (Nov. 2010)

Interests

Music, art, life, expression, creativity, human behavior, and the creative process/intersection of these fields in general. I am interested in most forms of artistic expression, and I appreciate the value in all of them. I try to question pretty much all societal standards for beauty/value, and enjoy having personal intellectual/philosophical discussions regarding art, music, life, love, poetry, creative writing, film, or anything else of interest.

• arts
• writing
• poetry
• theater
• performing arts
• contemporary art
• modern art
• avant-garde art
• beauty
• concerts
• festivals
• coffee
• technology
• traveling
• music
• electronic music
• jazz
• rock music
• opera
• teaching
• visual arts
• hitchhiking
• mountains
• art
• experimental music

Music, Movies, and Books

As a composer I am interested in a lot of music that is not so commonly known, however I also love good rock music, and am very interested in film, visual art, reading and writing/poetry. I won't bore you with a list!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Hitchhiking through the Slovakian mountains and crossing the border into Poland on foot.

Teach, Learn, Share

I have devoted my entire life to music, and teach music theory and composition. My interests are primarily in 'contemporary concert music', however you may like to interpret that, but I integrate elements of rock, jazz, latin and other musics as well. I've been doing more and more visual work, video processing, projection, and live capture, which is part of several projects I'm currently working on.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A lot!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Thailand, United States

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