The Tale of the Tunes

I often say that music was the first language I learned, before I knew what the lyrics to any of the songs my grandparents taught me were, I could sing along and mimic the emotion of the music.

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Earliest Memories of Music

The subtle scratching of a needle pressing on a vinyl record as the string introduction to Ray Charles' iconic recording or Georgia On My Mind. That sound enchanted my soul at the early age of 3 years old. My world was filled with music, by body encapsulated by rhythm, my mind overflowing with melodies. Along with Ray, Bill Haley & the Comets and Elvis were the three earliest influences of music that I had, along with the handful of Charlie Pride and Joe Diffie country tunes that my grandpa taught me at a young age. I can still remember running around the basement, banging on the pipes singing Tony Orlando and Dawn's 'Knock Three Times' with my siblings.

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A Concert and a Request

At the age of 7, my parents took my to Rochester to see Harry Connick, Jr, who is a family favorite and another major musical influence for me early on. After the exhilarating performance, we went to the stage door to try and meet Harry. Luckily, the NOLA native took the time to meet with the dozens of folks who waited outside for him. When the time came, a young naïve Jack Kreuzer asked if Harry would teach him the piano... Harry looked at me, laughed, and said he was too busy, but if I took lessons, he would come back and call me up on stage to play with him. I signed up for piano lessons right after and began my formal music training. While the day to play with Harry has yet to come, if the time does arrive, I'll be ready

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One After 909

While I didn't need formal training to play a video game, Guitar Hero was just as if not more important to my musical growth. My brother and I played the first 3 Guitar Hero games constantly for years. Once the Rock Band game series took the guitar and added a full band, it became a full family experience, getting everyone involved. We would spend countless hours in the basement banging on the drums, rocking out on 6-buttoned guitars, and singing to all time rock hits as a family.

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It was in the spring of 2009 when the Rock Band creators announced they would be releasing an edition of the game revolving around The Beatles. At the time, I was unfamiliar. I knew they were a British band from back in the day and that was the extent of my knowledge. My brother was determined to play through all of the songs that were featured in the game as soon as we could get our hands on it. The only dilemma was that Beatles Rock Band introduced vocal harmonies to the video game, which in turn meant that I had to learn Paul's harmony lines on most every Beatles tune in preparation for the game's release. 

Before school one morning in third grade, I was falling asleep awaiting for homeroom to begin. When asked why I was so tired, I replied, "I was up all night learning the harmonies to 'HELP!'"

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Long story short, the ear training that I put myself through by rote during that year, at such an early stage of my development as a human (9 years old), undoubtably fundamentally changed the course of my life. I had developed an ear for pitch, for harmony, for music that would leak into other aspects of my life. (See 'Sportscasting' tab)

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Expanding Across Genres

Throughout middle school and into high school, I was listening to all sorts of music. From the alt rock music I heard my Dad playing with his cover bands to the rap and hip hop I heard in the halls and on the bus at school, I immediately appreciated music across the spectrum. As I got into the school band playing the trumpet and singing in the choirs, classical music gave me an even better understanding of theory, whether I knew it at the time or not. As I got more knowledge of jazz later on in high school, I was hooked and wanted to dive into the Great American art form head first.

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The experiences I had with top notch teachers who led All-County, Area All-State, and All-State choirs in middle school and high school showed me just how much I loved making elite music with a group. So much so that I began to audition for schools as a prospective music major. 

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Out Of An Orange Colored Sky

At Syracuse University's Setnor School of Music, I developed my sound and enhanced my knowledge of music under Professor Jeff Welcher and Dr. John Warren, both of whom I owe an unbelievable amount of gratitude to for believing in me and my abilities. My time spent in the vocal ensembles Orange Syndicate, University Singers, Hendricks Chapel Choir, along with the a cappella group Otto Tunes, will be forever cherished. The music we made was ridiculously beautiful for a group of mostly 18-23 year olds.

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