From instrumental offertories to inspirations from The Beatles and Pink Floyd, Amazing Grace Variations - Look at the Birds has a storied song development.

What started out with a lyricist looking for someone to help compose music for a poem turned into a musical piece that ministers to many through parables.

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Brahms on composing (paraphrased) - The initial idea is a gift from God, but it is my responsibility (or privilege) as a composer to explore that material, molding and fashioning it into the final product.

“Isaiah Song” was one of a number of songs in which I experimented with either alternate scale structures or chromatically descending line in order to generate, hopefully, unique and interesting harmonic progressions.

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Inspired by an extraordinarily talented musician who needed to recognize

his talent was God-given.

Live for HIM!

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The importance of God's Word taking firm root in the heart of the individual, especially with respect to achieving and maintaining a deep and abiding relationship with God, came home to me when I discovered the beauty of Psalm 1.

This piece had its origin as a collaborative work with a jazz musician - after several iterations, its jazz brass influence is a nod to my New Orleans roots.

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"Sandy Sea" was intended as a song of praise and worship describing my personal experience with God.  Concerned that the lyrics were too esoteric for a broad audience,

I worked it in to a brass duet with

supporting strings.

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Accepting encouragement when facing the odds of trouble sounds ridiculous, except for knowing that God is accomplishing His work in us through those circumstances. 

A picture of a party or huge celebration on the San Antonio Riverwalk, Tex-Mex style, came to mind.

With "Lord I Can't Row," I decided to write something in a compound meter, with some swing to it, and to incorporate the energy and lift that came with supporting the melody with secondary dominants. 

This piece is influenced by The Beatles and Dan Fogelberg

When I was worrying about the future, especially dating and marriage, but occasionally work or career, I would begin meditating on Psalm 18:2.  A sense of peace and rest would envelope my whole being, an assurance that I could fully rely on God and His care.

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"You Are My Lord" was never meant to be a strongly developed artistic endeavor, but rather a very personal devotional song emulating something like a spontaneous expression of thanks and worship.

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