If your career no longer feels rewarding or you are struggling with feelings of emptiness and worthiness, you have likely fallen into living an Accidental Life - a life disconnected from your purpose and your authentic self. Some studies show that up to 85% of people are unhappy in their jobs. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the US and men are nearly 4 times more likely to die from suicide than women. 

The score of a musical work is fascinating. As a composer, I spend hundreds of hours alone with a score to unearth and present the uniqueness of every sound.

I grew up by the Atlantic Ocean -- 2.8 miles away, to be exact, sharing a zip code with the now extremely hip beach town of Asbury Park, NJ. I’m convinced that there is a certain unspeakable magic embedded into the wooden boardwalk that stretches the length of the shoreline, seemingly unending. I mean, there’s definitely a reason why Springsteen named an album after the place. I’ve spent countless hours frizzle-frying my skin on the beach, allowing my brain to auto-pilot while simultaneously realizing the enormity of the world surrounding me, coming to the realization that my mere existence on this planet is akin to a singular grain of sand on which I rest.

Summer is a polarizing time of the year.  I love summer.  The long days.  The less clothing.  Swimming. Playing ball outside.  Lots of vitamin D.  Throwing open your windows with the early sunrise in the morning over coffee and a good book. Summer is a time we visit friends and family.  It’s often a time of going on vacation and interrupting daily habits and patterns.  Going down the shore (or the beach for the non New Jerseyans), heading to the country for holiday weekends and quick jaunts to local summer getaways.

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Composing the music for NY Ensembles - Music for Jazz Chamber Orchestra and Jazz Orchestra  goes way back to my days as a freelance musician in Cologne, Germany. When I moved to NY in 2007, I brought over some sketches I had written before and kept on creating new music inspired by my new surroundings. Over the years, many initial ideas and drafts evolved into new works with various characters. I felt that my sounds got transformed and enriched by the energy and music scene of the Big Apple. Initially, there was a feeling of longing on my transatlantic flights when traveling. But still, there was the beautiful panoramic view over the Hudson River, which I enjoyed during my artist residency at the International House NYC. I lived in a tiny room up in the building's west tower, which soon started to feel like a new home. Each day, cloud formations moved rhythmically across the sky. Seeing this during a thunderstorm mirrored in multi-faceted variations across the water below was highly inspiring. Things that once appeared distant suddenly became close, a tension that I tried to explore musically, playing with the idea of contrasting worlds and changing perspectives. 

I, like you, have a million things on my daily list. And a big one that can be a pit of despair social media....