At age 7, my Public School, PS 26, in Fresh Meadows NY had a band program and I joined and was given a clarinet. Imagine, a school band program! I practiced, read music, learned fingerings and played with the group. This went on for some time until a few years later, my sister Denyse took me to see “A Hard Day’s Night.” That ended the clarinet in a heartbeat!

For about 6 months, I took lessons on the drums. Living in an apartment put a quick stop to that. For the next few months I had no instrument to play. My sister played guitar, piano, and flute. She had perfect pitch! I would sneak in her room when she was not home, grab her acoustic guitar and make believe I was a rock star! My parents ordered her an electric guitar mail order and it arrived to much fanfare. About a month later, an electric bass came from the same store! Neither of my parents ordered it! I was told that if in a month no one asked for it back it would be mine. 30 days later I was a bass player. I have always said the bass came GOD versus COD!

Now I lived in a house that to say the least was dysfunctional and I was able to turn lemons into lemonade by staying in my room at the other end of the apartment and practice that bass all the time. Music saved my life and I know it can do wonders for children all over the world!

I have been fortunate to be able to play the bass all over the world and it has led me to Music and Arts USA. I believe that my mission is to make certain music programs are accessible to every child. That is what we do and that is why I am encouraging you to contribute to this important cause.

Music can change lives. Music and Arts USA wants to be part of the process.