Proficient in: Trombone, Euphonium, Trumpet, Bass Trombone/Tuba
Working on: Melodica, Bass (fretless), piano, ukelele
Dreaming of: Otamatone, Drums, Aslatua

Pool Blues is a traditional jazz chart I composed primarily while working long summer shifts at a community pool — fittingly, most of it came together poolside. Commissioned and premiered by the Washington University Jazz Band in the Fall of 2024, the piece opens in Part 1 with an altered blues form, weaving through unusual meters like 12/8 and 9/8. In Part 2, each section of the band gets its moment: a lengthy trombone soli builds the rhythm of the early afternoon crowd, followed by a trumpet soli that brings in the playful chaos of a packed swim hour. The tune then turns into a vamped solo section, where backgrounds and layered textures create a sense of late-day momentum and reflection. It all builds to an all-out, band-in-unison shout section — symbolizing the final whistle and the shared exhale at the end of a long shift in the Texas sun.

Hamilton – An American Musical

The Hamilton Series (Trombone Ensemble) is a massive multitrack project where I arranged and recorded the entire Hamilton musical — yes, both acts — using only trombone quartets, quintets, and octets. Each song was reimagined specifically for low brass, with new arrangements created and tracked at nearly one per day until the full musical was complete. From “Alexander Hamilton” and “My Shot” to “Yorktown” and “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story,” every track brings the original spirit of the show into a new instrumental voice. It was a huge creative challenge, an arranging marathon, a nightmare to find enough unique shirts, and a ton of fun to make.

Jacob Collier – Dreaming of Flying

This cover of the titled Dreaming of Flying was a blast to recreate. Originally created in just 85 minutes by Jacob Collier on TikTok Live (and quite a bit longer for me), this multitrack features layered vocal and trombone tracks, along with bird calls sourced from YouTube and some sounds of the earthly variety I recorded while out walking.

My multitracked arrangement of The Simpsons Theme for trombone octet was recorded and published on May 24, 2020, as one of my earliest and most memorable COVID-era projects. It was the first time I fully explored the capabilities of the valve trombone, layering every part myself from home. The project went on to win a virtual YouTube talent show (ah, the quarantine days), standing out amongst 200 participants with a combined 75k views and over a thousand votes. I even submitted it as my 90-second “get to know you better” video for my WashU application — and, amusingly, the admissions committee decided it was reason enough to admit me.

The Christmas Song – Multitracked

*Headphones Recommended*
The Christmas Song (Trombone Choir) was posted on December 25, 2020 (fittingly), and to this day stands as my most ambitious multitrack project. This arrangement of the ever beloved Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire stems from a cover of the original tune by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé. “Cover” is understated as the tune was reworked and reimagined into an acappella epic by the one and only Jacob Collier. The tune features a staggering 26 isolated trombone tracks, a melodica solo, microtonal shifts and chord structures, and the mystifying theories of Collier’s invented negative harmony. The entire arrangement was written in just five days and recorded over the following seven, with special thanks to Jason Fieler and June Lee for their help with the original transcription work that formed the basis of this work. I was especially proud of the arranging process and final performance, though I quickly discovered that mixing 27 tracks and 11 unique instruments was its own challenge, let’s just say the gain could use some toning down.