Performance

I play piano, organ, violin, viola, flute, and recorder. Most of my work is in classical or Anglo-American folk music.

On the classical side of things, I have been working with Opera Brittenica as musical director and/or accompanist for each of their innovative productions of Benjamin Britten operas. From 2001 until about 2010, I was the primary rehearsal pianist for the Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company; I also played in their orchestra, generally as concertmaster or principal violist. Until 2007, when I left the New York City area for the wilds of Albany, I was a choral accompanist at Blind Brook Middle and High School, and I played piano for ballet classes at Sarah Lawrence College. Here in Boston, I play for ballet classes at Boston Conservatory, Harvard University, and José Mateo Ballet Theatre. I’ve got lots of room in my schedule for more ballet work, so please get in touch if you need that!

My folk-music activities are largely centered around the various dance bands that I’m a member of. At the moment, this list includes The Flying Romanos, which plays mostly English country dance music, as well as several contra dance bands including Contrazz, Contramantra, and Squeezology. I’m also a musician for the Handsfor Dance Project, which seeks to combine hip-hop and contra dance. If you want to see what I’m currently up to, check out my listing on Ted Crane’s DanceDB.

I also do a fair amount of musical theater, and I have played Javanese gamelan music with Gamelan Son of Lion and Gamelan Kusuma Laras and Balinese gamelan music with Gamelan Galak Tika. Also, from 2002 to 2003 I performed with the Renaissance-rock band Blackmore’s Night in the U.S. and 17 European countries under the name Lord Marnen of Wolfhurst; I appear on their recordings Ghost of a Rose and Live: Past Times With Good Company.