PROFESSION

Instrumentalist (Piano & Keyboards, Latin Percussion, Tabla Drums), Record Producer, Composer, Teacher

TRADITIONAL MUSIC EDUCATION:

Classical Piano Studies - Lighthouse Music Institute for the Blind: George Bennette and Joseph Fields (1978-1990) Western Classical Composition: Anthony Felaro (1984-1988) B.A. Music - Columbia University (1990-1996) Jazz Piano with Barry Harris: New York
(1999-2000) and Royal National Conservatory in the Hague, Holland - (2000-2002)Bata, Conga and Haitian Ceremonial Drumming - John Amira (1988-1994)

Graduate Studies In Music Theory and
Ethnomusicology toward a P.H.D. from the University of Pennsylvania (2008-2013)

INDIAN MUSIC EDUCATION:

TABLA DRUMMING:
under K. Paramjoti (1983-1984)
under Misha Masud (1984-1994)
under the late Ud. Ala Rakha Khan (1993) under the late Ud. Mulazim Hussain (1998-1999) Under Ud. Abdul Sattar Tari Khan (1999-2000) under Pt. Bharat Jangam and Sanjay
Deshpande: Pune, Maharashtra, India (2000-2001) under Dr. Mrinal K. Pal: Edison, NJ (2001 to present) Pakhawaj Drumming under Pt. Manik Munde and Pt.
Vasantrao Ghorpadkar: Pune, Maharashtra, India (2000-2001) Dhrupad Vocal Under Pt. Uday Bhawalkar: Pune, Maharashtra, India (2000-2001)

AWARDS:

New York Board Of Education Award For Academic Excellence (1986) Itzhak Perlman Award For Young Disabled Musicians- Very Special Arts- (1989) Clugy Scholarship Prize (1991) Research Grant From the American Institute Of Indian Studies (2000) Disabled Artists Performance Sponsorship at Philadelphia's Painted Bride Arts Center (2003) Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Master and Apprenticeships in Traditional Arts (2006)

PERFORMANCE and RECORDING EXPERIENCE:

Keyboards while a student at LaGuardia High School with Stevie Wonder, Winton Marsalas and Melissa Manchester (1986-1987)

International Touring with Henry Fiol's Orquesta
Corazón: Keyboards, Vocals and Latin Percussion (1986 to present) Arranged, co-produced and recorded 4 Albums (keyboard, percussion and vocals):
RENACIMIENTO: (New York, 1989)
CREATIVO: New York (1992)
EL DON DEL SON: Medellin, Colombia (1994)
GUAPERÍA: New Jersey (2002)

Ceremonial and Concert Performances with John Amira (1993 - 96) Recorded 1 Album (percussion - batá)

Sacred and Secular Batá, and conga with various New York folkloric ensembles: New York City and surrounding areas (1994-2000)

Initiation to Consecrated Batá Drums from Pancho Quinto in Cuba (1996)

Batá, and Conga with Two Cuban Folkloric Ensembles, Raizes Profundas, and La Siete Potencias: Havana, Cuba (1996) Keyboards with Cartoon Mary: New York (1997-1998) Keyboards with Grateful Dead Tribute Band Border Legion: New Jersey (2000) Piano and Conga with Barry Harris: New York, NY (1999-2001) The Hague, Holland (2000-2002) Vocal and Tabla Accompaniment for Pt. Uday Bhawalkar and Pt. Manik Munde: PHiladelphia, PA (2002) Large Scale Indian Jazz and Cuban Performance at the Painted Bride Arts Center: Philadelphia, PA (May, 2003) Opening With Charanga Ensemble For El Gran Combo De Puerto Rico (2004) Conga and Piano with Puerto Rico's Truco Y Zaperoco: Philadelphia, PA (2004) Piano and Keyboards with Cuban Violinist Pupy
Legarreta: Philadelphia, PA (2004 to present) Keyboards, Vocals, Production and Arrangements with Idelfonzo Rodriguez and Charanga La Única:
Philadelphia, PA (2004 to present)
Music, lyrics, arrangement, congas, percussion, keyboards and vocals for Univision Commercial with Idelfonzo Rodriguez and Charanga La Única: (Philadelphia, PA 2007) Congas, Vocals, Arrangements and Production with Conjunto 23: Philadelphia, PA (2000 to present) Currently recording and performing (keyboards and Afro-Cuban percussion) with various new and established groups in Philadelphia, New Jersey and NEw York City

TEACHING:

Piano and Latin Percussion at Asociación de Músicos Latino Americanos (AMLA) (2000-2004) Latin-American Ensemble, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA (Spring, 2003) Classical Piano and Music Theory at the Catholic Institute, Philadelphia, PA (2003-2004) ONGOING PRIVATE INSTRUCTION:

Piano: jazz, Blues, Boogie-Woogie, latin, classical
Abstract: jazz improvisation, composition, and arranging, classical music theory

Latin Percussion: conga, bongó, timbales, batá, cajón maracas and guiro
Abstract: applications of Afro-Cuban rhythms and concepts to drum set

Indian Classical: tabla, pakhawaj, dhrupad vocal
Abstract: application of north Indian classical music to Western instruments and genres.