I joined Local 802 after I was asked to orchestrate and play for a benefit called Arts for Autism at the Gershwin Theatre, featuring Kelly O’Hara, Julia Murney, Paul Nolan and other Broadway stars. I was so honored to play my first union show for such an important cause with such incredible performers. NYC is the most musically versatile city in the world, which is great since I enjoy playing many genres as well as music directing, orchestrating and composing for different settings. My goal is to continue to explore and expand my diversity as a musician and to continue performing all over. My most recent favorite gig was orchestrating a new musical called “The Astonishing Times of Timothy Cratchet.” There is something incredibly fulfilling in introducing your musical ideas and performing them in front of an audience. Whether it’s watching a colleague take your piece home to practice and perfect it, a director taking the time to give his interpretation of it, or an audience reacting to it, you get to have a special moment with people you’ve just met or can’t even see, all thanks to a piece that was merely a thought a little while ago. That’s something extraordinary to me. My principal instrument is piano.