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I studied music at the San Francisco Conservatory and at Stanford University, earning an M.A. degree in composing at Stanford and going most of the way to a doctorate there. Then, swept up in the protest movement against the Vietnam War and the general cultural revolution of the sixties, and feeling alien to the modes of composing that had become fashionable in the "serious" music of that time, I dropped out and became a San Francisco street musician for a while — in the glory days of S.F. street musicians! — playing for a belly dance troupe, among other things. I settled into the wonderful artistic community of Bolinas on the Marin County coast, found a soul mate in the painter Judy Molyneux, and continued evolving in my own way as a composer, clarinetist, and poet.
My compositions cover a wide range of styles — jazz, classical, and pop -- the common thread being that they are very melodic and often use fairly traditional harmony.
My pieces for chorus -- two of which have anti-war themes — have been performed by the Stanford Chorus, the San Francisco City College Chorus, and the West Marin Music Festival Chorus (One highlight: An audience of 1,000 in Stanford's Memorial Church gave a standing ovation to my anti-war cantata "Out of the Dark'ning Light").
Reactionary presidents seem to inspire political musical shows from me. In the Reagan era, I wrote and directed "Talkin' to the President", which I staged in Marin and at San Francisco's New Performance Gallery (now the ODC theater); and in 2004 and 2007, I wrote and directed "By George, It's War!", which received standing ovations at Marin's 142 Throckmorton Theatre and at La Pena in Berkeley.
I have also written a lot of songs, several settings of poetry by myself and others, music for video and dance, chamber music, and many pieces large and small for solo piano.
A number of my compositions were premiered in the West Marin Music Festival -- a lively feature of Marin cultural life for many years — and radio station KPFA in Berkeley hosted entire programs of my music.
My compositions cover a wide range of styles — jazz, classical, and pop -- the common thread being that they are very melodic and often use fairly traditional harmony.
My pieces for chorus -- two of which have anti-war themes — have been performed by the Stanford Chorus, the San Francisco City College Chorus, and the West Marin Music Festival Chorus (One highlight: An audience of 1,000 in Stanford's Memorial Church gave a standing ovation to my anti-war cantata "Out of the Dark'ning Light").
Reactionary presidents seem to inspire political musical shows from me. In the Reagan era, I wrote and directed "Talkin' to the President", which I staged in Marin and at San Francisco's New Performance Gallery (now the ODC theater); and in 2004 and 2007, I wrote and directed "By George, It's War!", which received standing ovations at Marin's 142 Throckmorton Theatre and at La Pena in Berkeley.
I have also written a lot of songs, several settings of poetry by myself and others, music for video and dance, chamber music, and many pieces large and small for solo piano.
A number of my compositions were premiered in the West Marin Music Festival -- a lively feature of Marin cultural life for many years — and radio station KPFA in Berkeley hosted entire programs of my music.
A PARTIAL LIST OF COMPOSITIONS
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Musical Shows
"Talkin' to the President" — A political musical revue. "By George, It's War!" — A political musical revue satirizing the George Bush administration (To watch, scroll down) "Deja Vu" — A variety musical reviue. "The Time Has Come" — A musical show with anti-war themes, as yet un-produced. "Plutocracy"--A musical show spoofing the way corporate and federal bigwigs are ignoring the looming danger of global warming. "Resistance" -- A musical show about war resistors in World War One, Britain, based upon Adam Hochschild's "To End All Wars" Compositions for Chorus "Out of the Dark'ning Light" — Anti-war cantata for mixed chorus, jazz group, and chamber ensemble. "Lullabies for Freya" — Original lullabies for my daughter, set for mixed chorus and chamber ensemble. "Psalms in Time of War" — For mixed chorus and piano. Musical Settings of Poetry "Fern Hill" — Long Dylan Thomas poem, set for soprano and piano. "And Singing Will Sing" — A suite of poems by Kenneth Patchen, set for reader and piano. "Changes" — A suite of my own poetry from my book "Breaking Free", set for reader and piano. "Preludes" — T.S. Eliot poem, set for tenor and piano. Chamber Music "Naila" — Based on belly dance music, for string quartet, piano, and percussion. "Journies" — Jazz/classical synthesis in four movements, for clarinet, cello, piano, and percussion. Solo Piano "Symphonic Screenplay for Piano" — A three movement dramatization for piano. "Symphonic Journey for Piano" — Another long dramatization for piano. Songs Most of my songs were written for the musical shows listed above, but I have written many other pop or folk songs. Two of my ballads, in instrumental versions, are included in the CD "Out of the Blue". 
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2004, Artwork By Judy Molyneux
2011, Artwork by Stu Art
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