It’s been 7 years since I last posted. The reason for this is that on March 31, 2014, I suffered a cardiac arrest–my heart simply (and suddenly) stopped beating.

I was in Pittsburg, PA for a performance of Three Fantasies when it all happened. I was resuscitated by two strangers (who I have never found, nor have they come forward, despite radio and other media coverage.
I fell into a coma, which lasted 29 days.
When I emerged from the coma, I was blind, could not stand or walk, had trouble using my left hand, and could not remember the name of the person(s) who had been in my room just a few minutes before.
After, literally hundreds of hours of personal therapy, from physical, to occupational, to speech, to cognitive, to vision, to cardiac, to vestibular, I have returned to my life.

Late last year (2020), I decided to try to compose again.
After completing a short work for piano and baritone voice, I set myself the goal of completing the work for Quintet Of The Americas that I was working on when the cardiac arrest happened.

Last Friday, April 29, the 7 year anniversary of my emergence from that coma, I submitted that composition for woodwind quintet to the funder, Queens Council On The Arts, who made the work possible in the first place.
They were surprised, but delighted to know that I had kept my side of the bargain.

While typing is difficult, I plan to keep posting now. I’ll even work on posting sound clips of the new works. Give me a little time.