BIO:
I am a musician who is comfortable in many styles and informed by multiple influences. I have studied (and continue to study) South Indian, Indonesian, Arab, Turkish and Western European musics. As a percussionist, I am invariably drawn to forms of music which have a strong sense of groove or rhythmic drive. Conversely (some would say ironically) I also have a weakness for a beautiful tune.

The musics which inspire and influence me the most as a performer and composer are those which combine strong melodies and powerful rhythms, including Karnatak (classical South Indian) music, Sundanese gamelan degung, the classical Arab takht, Rom (gypsy) music from Rajasthan to Istanbul to Seville, the string quartets of Terry Riley and Leos Janacek, and pretty much anything the Oscar Peterson Trio (with Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen) ever recorded!

Although I have performed as a percussionist in many situations, I am most at home performing as a hand drummer. My favourite instruments are the Turkish darabuka, Arabic riq, Sundanese kendang, and several types of frame drum, from tar to bodhran to kanjira.

In recent years, I have appeared on stage with many of Canada's finest performers, including vocalist/composer Suba Sankaran, mezzo-soprano Paula Rockwell, percussionist Patrick Graham, Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan, autorickshaw, El Viento Flamenco, Sanctuary Trio, Zingara, the Acadia Gamelan Ensemble, and the South Indian mrdangam virtuoso, Trichy Sankaran.

My compositions have been performed by TorQ Percussion, the Quey Percussion Duo, the University of North Carolina Percussion Ensemble, autorickshaw, Blue Engine String Quartet, the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra, as well as my own world-jazz group, Talambra. My piece, "Prelude and Episode" (available from HoneyRock Publishing) was a finalist in the Quey Percussion Duo's composition contest in 2007.

I am an active instructor and educator, as well. I'm a member of the music faculty at Acadia University, where I teach courses in world drumming, gamelan, and advanced rhythm. My instructional DVD, Exploring the Drum, has been adopted as an "official" resource by Nova Scotia's Department of Education.